Argentine President Javier Milei shared a link on X promoting a cryptocurrency called $LIBRA. The project, he claimed, will help "foster the growth of the Argentin

Argentine President Javier Milei's brief social media endorsement of the Libra memecoin turned sour as an estimated 86% of traders that took stake in the cryptocurrency lost a combined $251M in a swift crash.

Argentina holds the world’s fourth-largest reserves of shale oil and more shale gas than anywhere except China. Argentines started tapping Vaca Muerta around a decade ago. Production grew steadily. Then, a few years ago, it exploded. In 2024 Argentina exported more energy than it imported for the first time in 14 years.

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.”

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

Argentina’s libertarian president, Javier Milei, posted a link on X/Twitter to promote $Libra, a new cryptocurrency that, in his words, would “promote economic growth in Argentina and fund small business and entrepreneurship in Argentina.