"Argentina's President Promotes Meme Coin, $107M Vanishes in Pump-and-Dump"

Argentina's President Javier Milei has distanced himself from the LIBRA meme coin after promoting it in a now-deleted tweet. His clarification follows accusations that the project's developers drained approximately $107 million in what appears to be a pump-and-dump scheme.

On February 14, Milei's X account endorsed LIBRA, a Solana-based meme coin, which triggered a surge in trading activity. The token's market cap briefly hit $4.5 billion as investors rushed in. The project claimed its goal was to support Argentina's economy by funding small businesses and local ventures. Julian Peh, co-founder of KIP Protocol, confirmed the platform's involvement, stating that its role was to manage fund distribution rather than oversee the token itself.

However, doubts quickly emerged regarding the legitimacy of the launch. Crypto analyst Conor Grogan pointed out that the wallet deploying LIBRA had received funds from an exchange that does not require Know Your Customer (KYC) verification. As concerns mounted, Milei addressed the issue, stating that he had initially shared the project to support a private initiative, something he does regularly. Upon further review, he retracted his endorsement and deleted the post. Following his statement, LIBRA's price plummeted by around 90%.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that insiders had withdrawn approximately $107 million. Eight wallets linked to the project moved $57.6 million in USDC and 249,671 SOL, worth nearly $50 million. Analysts suggested these withdrawals were tied to liquidity manipulation and accumulated fees. Additionally, crypto analyst EmberCN reported that insiders made at least $20.18 million by front-running the promotional tweet, buying seconds after it was posted, and selling after the price spike.

The LIBRA fallout highlights concerns surrounding politically affiliated meme coins. Similar speculation surrounded the launch of the TRUMP token in January and the Central African Republic's CAR meme coin. In both cases, traders rushed to buy in before questioning their legitimacy. While those tokens turned out to be authentic, LIBRA's rapid collapse has raised alarms within the crypto community.

Industry figures have condemned the situation. Sonic Labs co-founder Andre Cronje criticized the trend, suggesting that meme coin traders do not engage with decentralized finance or blockchain technology. On the other hand,