Argentina’s President Javier Milei is facing growing political pressure after Congress voted to launch an official investigation into the collapse of the controversial LIBRA cryptocurrency — a memecoin he once publicly supported.
The Argentine Chamber of Deputies approved the creation of a special investigative committee with 128 votes in favor, 93 against, and 7 abstentions. This commission will dig into the events surrounding LIBRA’s massive crash, which wiped out nearly 90% of its value in just one day, leaving investors reeling.
What’s LIBRA, and why is it causing chaos?
LIBRA was introduced earlier this year as a “private project” aimed at boosting Argentina’s startup and tech space. At its peak, the coin reached a market cap of $4.5 billion. But between February 14 and 15, everything came crashing down. Over 75,000 digital wallets were affected, and the total estimated investor losses hit a staggering $250 million.
President Milei, who had once publicly backed the coin on social media (in a now-deleted post), has tried to distance himself, saying he wasn’t aware of the inner workings of the project. But that hasn’t stopped critics and investigators from digging deeper.
Government officials under the spotlight
The new congressional commission now has the power to summon key figures in Milei’s cabinet — including Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona — to answer questions about what role the government may have played in promoting the token.
This isn’t the first time Milei’s name has come up in a crypto controversy. Back in 2022, he was also linked to another failed platform called CoinX, which led to a lawsuit.
Legal action piling up
In March, an Argentine lawyer filed a formal fraud complaint and called for the arrest of Hayden Davis, the CEO of Kelsier Ventures — the firm allegedly behind LIBRA. There’s also a U.S. law firm organizing a potential class-action lawsuit for international investors who suffered losses.
Big-picture implications
As lawmakers and investigators look into what went wrong, bigger questions are being asked: How much should public officials promote private ventures? And what kind of protections should crypto investors have?
Interestingly, in the middle of all this, billionaire investor Tim Draper recently said Argentina — along with Uruguay — still has strong potential for growth, citing both countries as places that value “freedom and trust.” That optimism may be put to the test as this investigation plays out.
