\n<\/p>\n
Argentina\u2019s libertarian president, Javier Milei, has caused a political firestorm by promoting an unknown cryptocurrency token that shot up in value after his endorsement and then swiftly cratered.<\/p>\n
In a post on social media on Friday night, Mr. Milei said that the coin, called $LIBRA, would stimulate the economy and help small businesses grow. While the sudden attention gave the token an initial boost, the huge gains were erased as fear quickly spread that the coin was a scam.<\/p>\n
Mr. Milei deleted his social media post five hours later and attempted to distance himself from the venture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not familiar with the details of the project,\u201d he wrote on X, \u201cand after having informed myself I decided not to continue disseminating it (that is why I deleted the tweet).\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But Mr. Milei rapidly came under fire for his role in pushing people toward a risky investment. His dalliance with crypto also prompted comparisons with President Trump, who launched a memecoin, $Trump, last month. That token surged for a while and then crashed.<\/p>\n
A center-left coalition that opposes Mr. Milei\u2019s libertarian government called his crypto foray \u201ca scandal without precedent.\u201d<\/a> Another political bloc said it was seeking to create a commission in Congress to investigate what occurred.<\/p>\n Former President Cristina Fern\u00e1ndez de Kirchner, Mr. Milei\u2019s main political nemesis, said that \u201cthousands\u201d who had trusted him lost millions of dollars in all, \u201cwhile many made fortunes due to privileged information.\u201d<\/p>\n