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 seen a recent surge in popularity after President Donald Trump and his wife launched tokens of their own.

The Argentinian president faces impeachment charges for endorsing a crypto rug pull, via the same network that apparently launched Melania Trump’s memecoin.

The promise of crypto regulation in Argentina, once fueled by the rise of pro-crypto President Javier Milei in late 2023, has come crashing down as hopes for progress in the sector’s regulatory framework vanish following the scandal surrounding memecoin Libra (LIBRA).

An estimated 86% of crypto traders that took positions in a memecoin endorsed by Argentine President Javier Milei on Friday ended up losing money, according to research firm Nansen.

Argentine President Javier Milei faces his first major political crisis as the so-called cryptogate scandal shakes his credibility. The failed cryptocurrency endorsement has sparked a legal and political backlash.

A judge in Argentina has been selected to investigate allegations of fraud against President Javier Milei for his brief promotion of a cryptocurrency that collapsed in value hours after it was launched last week.

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.”

On February 15th Mr Davis called himself “Javier Milei’s adviser” and said that he was “working with him and his team”. Mr Milei’s office has said the government has no connection to Mr Davis. This was not Mr Milei’s first brush with crypto controversy.

Argentina's president faces his first major political crisis as the so-called "cryptogate" scandal shakes his credibility. The failed cryptocurrency endorsement sparks legal trouble, political fallout and media backlash.