Argentine president faces charges over crypto 'fraud'

Argentina's president Javier Milei is facing fraud charges following a promotional social media post about a cryptocurrency that swiftly plummeted in value.

- RAMIRO BARREIRO

Lawyers filed the charges in criminal court on Sunday, alleging fraudulent activity related to Mr Milei's promotion of the \$Libra coin. The president's now-deleted post on X (Twitter) touted the cryptocurrency as a means to “encouraging economic growth by funding small businesses and startups”.

Just hours after Mr Milei’s endorsement, the value of \$Libra crashed, leaving investors with significant losses, according to financial tracking site Dex screener. The coin, developed by the Web3 company KIP Protocol and Hayden Davis, was accessible through a link directing users to a website called vivalalibertadproject.​com. The website’s name echoes a phrase frequently used by Mr Milei in his speeches and online communications.

The president’s office said on Saturday that Mr Milei was not involved in any stage of the cryptocurrency’s development and decided to remove the post to avoid speculation and limit further exposure, following the public reaction to the project’s launch.