Milei pushes crypto token, then deletes post amid fears of scam

President Javier Milei advertised a crypto token meant to help local Argentine businesses, but his support was met with widespread concern about a potential scam and he deleted the post. 

Milei initially promoted the '$LIBRA' token late Friday in a post on X, saying the money raised would go to help small and medium-size companies in Argentina and stressing that the project was privately run. In a text message, he added that he would reap no personal financial benefit from the venture. 

The token’s name appeared to be in reference to Milei’s political party, La Libertad Avanza, or his libertarian roots as an economist. Milei told Bloomberg he met with the company behind the coin, KIP Protocol, months ago. The company’s website includes a blog post featuring a selfie with its co-founder and the Argentine president giving a thumbs-up dated October 20. 

Argentines immediately began to panic over whether the president’s social media was hacked or if Milei himself had been duped by crypto scammers. 

Community notes published on X — the social-media platform owned by Milei’s ally Elon Musk — cautioned people against the coin. Crypto scams, often called “rug pulls,” are rife on social media.

Milei deleted the initial post five hours later, saying he was “not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading the word.”

Hace unas horas publiqué un tweet, como tantas otras infinitas veces, apoyando un supuesto emprendimiento privado del que obviamente no tengo vinculación alguna.
No estaba interiorizado de los pormenores del proyecto y luego de haberme interiorizado decidí no seguir dándole…
— Javier Milei (@JMilei) February 15, 2025

Despite being a Wall Street darling, Milei has so far struggled to lure foreign investment into Argentina even as his government crushes inflation and passes business-friendly reforms. He still hasn’t dismantled the complex currency controls his administration inherited more than a year ago, though Argentina’s economy is expected to grow again in 2025 after two years of punishing recession. 

Even before Friday’s token drama, headwinds were building in Buenos Aires. US President Donald Trump’s tariffs stand to disproportionately hit Argentina, while Nissan is cutting back car production and Mercedes-Benz is leaving the country after more than 70 years. Argentina’s economic lifeline, the Rio Paraná that carries most of the country’s farm exports, faced a setback after Milei’s government cancelled an auction to dredge it deeper after receiving just a single bid as ships struggle to navigate narrow waters. 

Milei nevertheless concluded his initial post promoting the crypto token by saying “the world wants to invest in Argentina,” signing off with his trademark slogan “long live freedom, damn it.”