Milei's Memecoin Imbroglio: Argentina's President Faces Impeachment Over LIBRA Surge and Collapse

Argentinian President Javier Milei is facing potential impeachment proceedings from the opposition over his alleged involvement in the launch of a memecoin, LIBRA. The controversy surrounds Milei's endorsement of the token, which saw its market capitalization surge to $4 billion within hours of its launch before collapsing shortly after.

In a now-deleted tweet, Milei announced the launch of LIBRA, claiming it was designed to "encourage the growth of the Argentine economy." He later backtracked on his support for the coin, stating that he was unaware of the project's details and had no connection to it. Milei also criticized the political opposition for attempting to exploit the situation.

The fintech chamber of Argentina has accused Milei of facilitating a "rug pull," a practice where developers abandon a project, leaving investors with worthless tokens. Opposition member Leandro Santoro has called for an impeachment request against the president, citing the international embarrassment caused by the scandal.

At the time of writing, LIBRA is trading at $0.379, a 91.7% decline from its record high of $4.56, which was reached a few hours after the launch.