Argentina's crypto scandal dings Milei, involves strange mix of
characters
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 [February 22, 2025] By
ALAN SUDERMAN and ISABEL DEBRE
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — 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 surged in popularity
after President Donald Trump and his wife launched tokens of their own.
The budding scandal in Argentina has been dubbed locally as “cryptogate”
and has links to a diverse cast of characters, including a high-profile
U.S. influencer, a crypto developer who uses the pseudonym “Meow,” and a
28-year-old American entrepreneur who said he helped launch first lady
Melania Trump’s meme coin last month.
Here’s an explainer on what happened and where things stand:
First off, what exactly is a meme coin?
Meme coins are a type of cryptocurrency that are generally just goofs on
internet memes, viral moments or celebrities that aren’t trying to make
use of a new technology or solve any new problems. They often have silly
names, like Dogecoin, or Fartcoin.
Critics – including many cryptocurrency enthusiasts — say they are
nothing more than digital Ponzi schemes that exist to enrich insiders at
the expense of retail investors. Those more supportive say meme coins
shouldn’t be so easily dismissed and could be early indicators of ways
in which the internet could revolutionize financial and other
transactions.
“New technologies often look like a toy but evolve into something much
more powerful over time,” Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a recent
social media post.
So, what happened with the meme coin associated with Milei?
In short, a disaster.
Milei, the tech-loving, chainsaw-wielding, libertarian president of
Argentina, posted on X about the meme coin $LIBRA on Friday, just after
it had launched, stating he was “encouraging economic growth by funding
small businesses and startups.”
The coin’s price soared almost immediately, pushing the market value for
the project beyond $4 billion.
A few hours after launch, early holders of the coin started cashing out
of the project and its price collapsed.
The trajectory of $LIBRA’s price had the hallmarks of a “rug pull,” a
not uncommon phenomenon with meme coins. Rug pulls occur when insiders
dump their holdings in newly launched meme coins that are soaring in
value, which tanks the price and causes losses to newer investors.
Milei deleted his initial post after the price collapsed and distanced
himself from the project. By Monday, dozens of criminal complaints had
been filed, a judge in Argentina had been selected to investigate
allegations of fraud and Argentina’s main opposition party called for
his impeachment.
On Friday, a federal prosecutor formally opened the probe to determine
the involvement of Milei and five others in the creation and promotion
of $LIBRA, for the possible crimes of bribery, fraud, influence peddling
and abuse of authority.
A defiant Milei insisted he had acted in good faith and said that he had
asked the Justice Ministry’s Anti-Corruption Office to investigate if he
or anyone else had committed wrongdoing.
Who is a key player in this?
Hayden Davis, a 28-year-old American crypto developer who said he’s an
adviser to Milei and helped launch $LIBRA, has emerged as a central
figure. Milei’s office said the government has no connection to Davis.
In an interview with independent crypto journalist Stephen Findeisen,
Davis said that meme coins are essentially a rigged game that benefit a
small group of people at the expense of retail investors.
“It is an insiders’ game. This is an unregulated casino,” Davis said.
[to top of second column] |
A demonstrator holds a banner depicting President Javier Milei and
the $Libra cryptocurrency during a protest organized by retirees
demanding better pensions, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday,
Feb. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
 Davis said the $LIBRA coin was not a
rug pull but was supposed to be an experiment to show the power and
utility of digital currency that’s consistent with Milei’s desire
for Argentina to be a hub for innovation.
Davis also said he was involved in the launch of Melania Trump’s
meme coin. Launched just before her husband took office, that meme
coin’s price underwent a similar trajectory as $LIBRA — quickly
soaring upon launch and then dropping. The first lady’s office
declined to comment.
Who else was involved?
Online influencer Dave Portnoy, who founded the Barstool Sports
podcast empire and is a vocal gambling enthusiast, said on social
media that Davis had told him about $LIBRA’s launch before it went
public and asked him to promote it.
Portnoy said there were also discussions about the possibility of
him interviewing Milei, much like he’d done with President Donald
Trump during his first term. Portnoy said he did not buy any $LIBRA
until after Milei’s post on X and lost money on the purchase when
the price crashed. Davis said he reimbursed Portnoy’s losses.
“Meow” is the anonymous co-founder of a crypto firm involved in
launching meme coins, including $LIBRA, said on social media that
they were confident that no one at the firms had been involved in
insider trading or financial wrongdoing. Still, Meow said the
company had hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation
and that one of the company’s leaders had resigned for showing “a
lack of judgement.”
What’s next for Milei?
Cryptogate represents the first big scandal of Milei’s presidency.
Analysts said it risks eroding public confidence in Milei, who rose
to prominence as an iconoclastic economist vowing to tame
Argentina’s sky-high inflation and eliminate corruption among the
political elite.
Questions remain over how this will affect the Milei
administration’s perception among foreign investors at a crucial
time in which the government is hoping to ease strict currency
controls and negotiate a loan with the International Monetary Fund.
He is now in Washington meeting with Tesla chief Elon Musk and other
high-profile tech leaders in a bid to generate hype for his economic
overhaul.
What about meme coins?
Meme coins don’t appear to be going away anytime soon, but their
track record should serve as a cautionary tale for investors and
creators alike.
The meme coins promoted by Trump and his wife have seen their prices
fall dramatically since the days after their launch and drawn
criticism from some Democrats and crypto enthusiasts.
Hailey Welch, better known as Hawk Tuah Girl, saw her popularity
plummet after her meme coin collapsed amid allegations of a rug
pull. And celebrity Caitlyn Jenner is the defendant in an ongoing
class action lawsuit filed by investors who said they were duped
into losing money on the $JENNER meme coin. Welch and Jenner have
both denied wrongdoing.
The impoverished Central African Republic issued a meme coin earlier
this month. After a brief spike, its price has also collapsed.
___
Suderman reported from Richmond, Virginia.
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