A new cryptocurrency called $Libra bilked investors out of $250 million. It had been promoted by President Javier Milei.

Argentine President Javier Milei is facing a corruption probe into his promotion of a meme coin, which is a highly speculative form of cryptocurrency that’s seen a recent surge in popularity after President Donald Trump and his wife launched tokens of their own.

Here’s what happened: Late Friday night, Milei fired off a tweet lending his support to a cryptocurrency token called $LIBRA. Milei described the coin to his nearly four million followers as a “private project dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy,” claiming that it would be “funding small Argentine businesses and ventures.”

Argentina’s president Javier Milei literally wiped out the meme coin market in just five hours today, and might have incinerated his reputation along with it.

On February 15th Mr Davis called himself “Javier Milei’s adviser” and said that he was “working with him and his team”. Mr Milei’s office has said the government has no connection to Mr Davis. This was not Mr Milei’s first brush with crypto controversy.

Argentine President Javier Milei faces a fraud investigation after promoting a cryptocurrency that collapsed within hours, vaporizing billions in value.