Milei faces impeachment threat after $107M crypto 'rug pull'

Argentine President Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment after endorsing the LIBRA (CRYPTO:LIBRA) token, which subsequently collapsed in what analysts are calling a massive insider scam.

The Solana-based token briefly reached a market capitalisation of $4.56 billion on Feb. 14 before plummeting over 94% to $257 million within 11 hours.

Milei's now-deleted post on X included a website and contract address for LIBRA, describing it as a “private project” aimed at “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy.”

Shortly after Milei's endorsement, at least eight insider wallets associated with the LIBRA team cashed out over $107 million worth of liquidity, including 57.6 million USD Coin (USDC) and 249,671 Solana (CRYPTO:SOL) worth $49.7 million.  

"This scandal, which embarrasses us on an international scale, requires us to launch an impeachment request against the president," opposition lawmaker Leandro Santoro said.

Following the token's crash, Milei stated on X that he was unaware of the project's details and has “no connection whatsoever” with the enterprise.

Milei added that his political opponents will try to exploit the situation.

The President’s Office announced that Milei had met with representatives from KIP Protocol, the project’s developer, and that the Anti-Corruption Office would investigate the matter.

Hayden Mark Davis, a representative of KIP Protocol, blamed Milei for the token's collapse, claiming that Milei's sudden withdrawal of support contradicted prior assurances and directly led to the market crash.

Blockchain analysis firm Bubblemaps had warned about LIBRA’s flawed tokenomics, revealing that 82% of the supply was unlocked and sellable from the start.

The incident has drawn comparisons to former U.S. President Donald Trump's launch of the Trump memecoin.