Milei’s flirtation with crypto

There are 5 replies in this Thread which has previously been viewed 101 times. The latest Post (February 28, 2025 at 5:54 PM) was by Rice.

    Milei’s flirtation with crypto apparently wasn’t preceded by any due diligence. Friday night on X, formerly Twitter, he announced a new cryptocurrency “to stimulate the economy and help small businesses grow.” Apparently realizing what a boneheaded move he’d made by promoting it without knowing anything about it, 5 hours later he deleted his tweet (Magic! See? I never said that!), but not before investors jumped in to the tune of $4.6 billion, before it cratered.

    Here’s a timeline:
    https://www.binance.com/en/square/post/20367771326817

    Quote from GlasgowJohn

    It seems to have been a major cock up.

    Evil tongues are indicating that Karina was to blame for everything...........

    Well, that is certainly believable, whether true or not. But I just can’t understand an economist, never mind a head of state, endorsing a financial product without first thoroughly checking it out.

    I hate that he handed this to the K’s.

    Twitter and the social platforms are ideal to con people and spread conspiracies. He was easily tricked by people who knew where to influence him for their confidence game.
    An economist, which is a social science, so understandable he is not a financial wizard up to date on the modern instruments. He has fired many smart advisers because they were strong enough to have voiced varied opinions, or made independent decisions. Maybe the ones who are left are scared and/or weak so cannot tell him “no” when they should.

    Story update in NYT today —

    ““The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Javier Milei, Argentina’s president, posted at 7:01 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, offering a code to buy a new cryptocurrency.

    The digital coin was called $Libra, and it had been created 23 minutes earlier.

    Over the next few hours, thousands of people invested. $Libra’s value skyrocketed.

    Then it swiftly collapsed. The largest stakeholders had sold their coins, leaving almost everyone else with a collective $250 million in losses.

    To cryptocurrency veterans, it was a classic “rug-pull.”

    Argentina’s Crypto Scandal Swindled Thousands. What Did Javier Milei Know? (Gift Article)
    A new cryptocurrency called $Libra bilked investors out of $250 million. It had been promoted by President Javier Milei.
    www.nytimes.com