Argentine President Javier Milei has defended himself for promoting a cryptocurrency whose value collapsed within hours of its launch, likening those who invested in the token after his endorsement to gamblers at casinos.
“The reality is if you go to the casino and lose money, I mean, what is the claim if you knew that it had those characteristics?” he said during an interview with the TN news channel that aired on Monday night.
Milei said he promoted the little-known crypto coin $LIBRA in a tweet on X last week because he believed it would encourage economic growth by funding small businesses.
“I am spreading the word that this is to fund Argentines who do projects and who do not have access to financing,” he told TN.
The price of the coin soared after the president’s endorsement then quickly collapsed, leading to losses for thousands of investors.
Milei deleted his tweet hours after posting it, saying he had doubts about the matter.
Critics have called for Milei’s impeachment and filed multiple criminal complaints against the president, including at least one to the US Department of Justice, alleging an illicit association to commit “an indeterminate number of frauds.”
One complaint against the president, the developers of the cryptocurrency and other named individuals was filed by the Popular Unity political party and others. It alleged that “The biggest MEGA scam in history in this sector was carried out through an operation known as ‘Rugpull’ which occurs when the developers behind a project launch a token and attract investors to increase its value, then abruptly withdraw and take the money.”
The plaintiffs said Monday that a judge has been appointed to look into the complaint.
On Saturday, the firm behind the launch, Kelsier, rejected claims that the project’s backers were scammers.
Asked if he thought he had made a mistake, Milei told TN, “No, because I also acted in good faith.”
Milei insisted that anyone who invested in the coin did so voluntarily, despite his tweet.
“I did not promote it. What I did was I spread it,” he said, adding that he did not benefit from the crypto coin.