After former US President Trump issued $TRUMP and the President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadéra launched $CAR, this time it was the turn of Argentine President Javier Milei to announce the token address on his X account. However, this tweet was quickly deleted, causing the token price to plummet, becoming a major focus of the market today.
Due to Javier Milei's advocacy of the free market and his positive attitude towards Bitcoin, coupled with Argentina's long-term high inflation, the demand for cryptocurrencies is strong, making the country well-known in the crypto community.
Argentine President Allegedly Issued Meme Coin $LIBRA
Reviewing the timeline of the event, this morning Javier Milei posted a tweet on X, mentioning a project called "Viva la Libertad" (Spanish for "Long Live Liberty") and publicly disclosing the contract address of its token $LIBRA. He wrote in the tweet:
The Argentine libertarians are on the rise!!!
This private project will be dedicated to promoting economic growth in Argentina, funding small businesses and new startups in Argentina.
The whole world wants to invest in Argentina.
Contract Address: Bo9jh3wsmcC2AjakLWzNmKJ3SgtZmXEcSaW7L2FAvUsU
$LIBRA
However, this tweet was deleted shortly after it was posted, plunging the market into chaos.
Clarification After Deleting Tweet: Did Not Understand Project Details, Will No Longer Promote
Regarding the reason for deleting the tweet, Javier Milei posted an explanation:
A few hours ago, I posted a tweet, as I have done many times before, supporting a so-called private company, although I was clearly unrelated to it.
At the time, I did not understand the details of this project, and after learning the relevant information, I decided not to continue promoting it (which is also the reason I deleted the tweet).
In addition, he also responded to the criticism from the public:
To those dirty politicians who want to make a big deal out of this incident, I want to tell you: you are proving every day the vileness of politicians, which makes us even more determined to kick you out of politics.
Issuing Team: The President Did Not Participate, $LIBRA Was a Great Success
Almost at the same time, the Web3 AI development platform KIP Protocol posted on X to clarify that Viva la Libertad is a project they launched, and President Milei did not participate:
Today is the ambitious launch day of the Viva la Libertad project, which aims to help private enterprises in Argentina, and the $LIBRA currency has been successfully launched. We thank everyone for their trust and support.
To respond to all the questions, we want to clarify that this is a private enterprise project, and President Milei did not participate, nor was he involved in the development of this project, and he has also clarified this himself. This is a completely independent private enterprise.
Thank you all for being a part of this great beginning!
These words inevitably left the market in shock, and a flood of losing investors rushed to the comments section to criticize.
$LIBRA Surged to $4.6 Billion Market Cap, Then Crashed Over 95%
Less than an hour after the launch of $LIBRA, its market cap soared to $4.62 billion, with the price reaching a high of $4.6215, briefly ranking among the top 33 cryptocurrencies by market cap, seemingly replicating the glory of the $TRUMP launch.
However, after Javier Milei deleted the tweet, $LIBRA plummeted 50% in 15 minutes, and the current price is temporarily reported at $0.1941, a drop of over 95.8% from the high point.
Team Cashed Out Over $100 Million
According to on-chain data analysis platform Lookonchain, the $LIBRA team has cashed out $107 million. On-chain data shows that 8 wallets related to the $LIBRA team have obtained:
- 57.6 million USDC
- 249,600 $SOL (about $49.7 million)
The team has profited handsomely, while most investors have suffered heavy losses, causing strong discontent in the market. BlockTempo will continue to follow up and report on the subsequent developments.
