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Argentina’s Congress on Tuesday backed the creation of a commission of inquiry into a cryptocurrency promoted by President Javier Milei that soared then crashed, losing investors hundreds of millions of dollars.<\/p>\n
The libertarian president hailed the $LIBRA meme coin as a “private project” aimed at “stimulating the growth of the Argentine economy, by financing small businesses and Argentine entrepreneurs.”<\/p>\n
“The world wants to invest in Argentina. $LIBRA,” he wrote on the social network X on February 14, in a post he deleted hours later after the currency crashed.<\/p>\n
Industry experts have called the operation a “rug pull” — a scam where developers unveil a crypto token, attract investors, then quickly cash out.<\/p>\n
$LIBRA went from boom to bust all in the space of a day.<\/p>\n
After Milei’s apparent thumbs-up, it soared in value but then plummeted 90 percent within two hours.<\/p>\n
Milei later claimed he “did not know the details of the project.”<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the lower house voted by 128 members in favor to 93 against and seven abstentions to launch an inquiry into the currency, which moved more than $4.5 billion and caused investors to lose approximately $250 million.<\/p>\n
MPs also approved a resolution to summon Economy Minister Luis Caputo and Justice Minister Mariano Cuneo Libarona, among other senior officials, to testify over the affair.<\/p>\n
A judge has been tasked with investigating Milei’s connection to $LIBRA amid allegations that he was complicit in fraud, consorted with criminals or was in breach of his duties.<\/p>\n
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