Argentinian president Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment and a possible criminal investigation for his role in the rise and fast collapse of a memecoin.

A new report cites text messages that appear to show the crypto mogul bragging about exerting some sort of control over the Argentinian leader.

Argentinian President Javier Milei mocked opposition efforts to impeach him amid accusations of fraud after a cryptocurrency he shared on social media crashed, inflicting big losses on those who bought in.

Argentina holds the world’s fourth-largest reserves of shale oil and more shale gas than anywhere except China. Argentines started tapping Vaca Muerta around a decade ago. Production grew steadily. Then, a few years ago, it exploded. In 2024 Argentina exported more energy than it imported for the first time in 14 years.

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.”

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 Pre

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.