Libra (memecoin)
The specific memecoin promoted by Argentine President Javier Milei. Its market cap briefly hit $4 billion before crashing 95%, causing massive losses.
entitydetail.created_at
7/26/2025, 2:51:48 AM
entitydetail.last_updated
7/26/2025, 2:54:45 AM
entitydetail.research_retrieved
7/26/2025, 2:54:45 AM
Summary
The $LIBRA cryptocurrency, a Solana-based memecoin, became central to Argentina's "Cryptogate" scandal, also known as "Libragate," starting on February 14, 2025. The scandal unfolded after Argentine President Javier Milei promoted the token, which was initially marketed by the Viva La Libertad Project as a means to stimulate the economy by funding small businesses. Following Milei's endorsement, $LIBRA's price surged dramatically to over $4.50 before crashing to below $0.20 within hours, leading to approximately $250 million in investor losses and accusations of a rug pull scam. This incident, which The Economist dubbed the "first big scandal" of Milei's presidency, was discussed on the All-In Podcast as a cautionary example of leadership failure in the crypto space, where Milei's actions were characterized as a rug pull against his own supporters.
Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
Type
Memecoin
Creator
Viva La Libertad Project
Blockchain
Solana
Investor Losses
$250 million
Declared Purpose
Stimulate Argentina's economy by funding small businesses
Post-Crash Value
Below $0.20
Key Player Implicated
Hayden Mark Davis (CEO of Kelsier Ventures)
Associated Scandal Name
Libragate
Peak Value (before crash)
Over $4.50
Timeline
- The $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal began when Argentine President Javier Milei promoted the $LIBRA memecoin. (Source: Wikipedia)
2025-02-14
- Following President Milei's promotion, the price of $LIBRA surged to over $4.50 before crashing below $0.20 within hours, leading to approximately $250 million in investor losses and allegations of a rug pull scam. (Source: Web Search)
2025-02
- President Javier Milei deleted his promotional post for $LIBRA and denied endorsing the project, stating he merely 'spread the word' without full knowledge. (Source: Web Search)
2025-02
- Diógenes Casares, co-founder of Stream Finance, reported rumors of a memecoin around Milei being created, including the involvement of bribes. (Source: Wikipedia)
Prior to launch
Wikipedia
View on Wikipedia$Libra cryptocurrency scandal
The $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal is an ongoing political scandal that began on February 14, 2025, when the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, promoted a cryptocurrency project called $LIBRA. The price of the meme coin spiked following Milei's promotion but then suffered a severe price drop, leading to allegations of a rug pull scam and $250 million in losses for investors. This scandal has been dubbed Cryptogate. The Economist called it the "first big scandal" of Milei's presidency.
Web Search Results
- Libra (LIBRA) Price, Charts, and Info - Bitcoin.com | Markets
The Libra token (LIBRA) is a Solana-based memecoin that gained international attention in February 2025 after Argentine President Javier Milei briefly promoted it. Marketed as a project to stimulate Argentina's economy by funding small businesses, LIBRA's value surged to over $4.50 before crashing below $0.20 within hours, leading to significant investor losses and allegations of fraud. The incident, dubbed 'Libragate,' has sparked political turmoil in Argentina, including calls for President [...] The Libra token (LIBRA) is a memecoin built on the Solana blockchain. It was introduced with the declared goal of boosting Argentina's economy by funding small local businesses. However, it gained notoriety in February 2025 after a rapid price surge followed by a sharp decline, leading to significant investor losses. ### Why did the LIBRA token crash? [...] Argentine President Javier Milei briefly promoted the LIBRA token on social media, suggesting it could support economic growth by funding small businesses. Following the token's collapse, Milei deleted his promotional post and denied endorsing the project, stating he merely 'spread the word' without full knowledge of its details. ### What is 'Libragate'?
- What is LIBRA? The Solana Meme Coin That Sparked a Political ...
The LIBRA token, created by the Viva La Libertad Project, was promoted as a funding tool for Argentina's small businesses and innovative projects—an unusual use case for a meme coin, which are mostly driven by internet phenomena, celebrities, and humor. [...] Argentina’s foray into cryptocurrency took a dramatic turn in February 2025 when President Javier Milei tweeted in support of LIBRA, a Solana-based meme coin. Within hours, LIBRA crashed nearly 90%, sparking accusations of fraud and calls for Milei’s impeachment. [...] $29.27 ### POPCAT $0.383566 ### MOVE $0.143557 ### AKT $1.37 ### SUN $0.01953228 ### RON $0.560689 ### JST $0.03705167 ### ATH $0.03443738 ### USELESS $0.364259 ### OHM $22.29 ### TURBO $0.00526375 ### DOG $0.00362757 ### REKT $0.00000086 ### SUPER $0.795368 ### KTA $0.885046 ### LUNC $0.00006339 ### EBTC $117,054.00 ### WBTC $117,495.00 ### ZBCN $0.00399349 ### CTC $0.74818 ### MATIC $0.234286 ### KAITO $1.39 ### TWT $0.80531 ### USDG $0.999802
- Diem (digital currency) - Wikipedia
Diem (formerly known as Libra) was a permissioned blockchain-based stablecoin payment system proposed by the American social media company Facebook. The plan also included a private currency implemented as a cryptocurrency. The launch was originally planned to be in 2020, but only rudimentary experimental code was released. [...] The project was formally announced on June 18, 2019, under the name Libra. The creators of the coin are listed as Morgan Beller, David Marcus and Kevin Weil (Novi's VP of Product). The first release was planned for 2020. On July 15, 2019, Facebook announced the currency would not launch until all regulatory concerns had been met and Libra had the "appropriate approvals". On September 18, 2019, during a meeting with top Senate Democratic leaders, Mark Zuckerberg said that Libra would not be [...] ## Currency The plan was for the Libra token to be backed by financial assets such as a basket of currencies, and US Treasury securities in an attempt to avoid volatility "Volatility (finance)"). Facebook announced that each of the partners would inject an initial US$10 million, so Libra had full asset backing on the day it opened. As of January 2020, Libra was said to have dropped the idea of a mixed currency basket in favor of individual stablecoins pegged to individual currencies.
- $Libra cryptocurrency scandal - Wikipedia
The $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal is an ongoing political scandal that began on February 14, 2025, when the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, promoted a cryptocurrency project called $LIBRA. The price of the meme coin spiked following Milei's promotion but then suffered a severe price drop, leading to allegations of a rug pull scam and $250 million in losses for investors. This scandal has been dubbed Cryptogate. The Economist called it the "first big scandal" of Milei's presidency. [...] A week before $LIBRA's launch, Diógenes Casares"), co-founder of decentralized finance company Stream Finance, wrote a report mentioning rumors that "a meme coin around Milei [was] being created," including the involvement of bribes. However, he initially thought they were not real. American analyst Nick O'Neill stated that "Javier Milei and his team worked for weeks on launching a token" and claimed "with 100% certainty" that payments were involved in the development and launch of $LIBRA. [...] Hayden Mark Davis"), an American cryptocurrency marketer who has been involved in a number of memecoin pump and dump schemes, was a key player implicated in the $Libra cryptocurrency scandal. Davis, as CEO of Kelsier Ventures, participated in the launch of the token. Kelsier Ventures is operated by Davis along with his brother Gideon and their father, Tom, and was initially founded during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company first advised on marketing strategies for non-fungible tokens, later
- Libra Cryptocurrency - Overview, How It Works, Purpose
# Libra Cryptocurrency Facebook's failed cryptocurrency was intended to be used as a simple, low-fee medium of exchange worldwide ## What is the Libra Cryptocurrency? Libra was a cryptocurrency created by Facebook, renamed into Diem at the end of December 2020 and wound down in January 2022. The Libra cryptocurrency was intended to be used as a simple, low-fee global blockchain-based digital currency. [...] a multi-currency stablecoin based on a basket of currencies. [...] The Libra cryptocurrency utilized blockchain technology. However, it wasn’t a true blockchain currency since it was not fully decentralized. Only members of the Diem Association were to be able to access the ledger of transactions. ### What is the Purpose of Libra?