Connect with us

Crypto

Bitwise Seeks SEC Approval for Dogecoin ETF—Will Meme Coins Go Mainstream? – Featured Bitcoin News

Published

on

Bitwise Seeks SEC Approval for Dogecoin ETF—Will Meme Coins Go Mainstream? – Featured Bitcoin News
Bitwise Files for Dogecoin ETF—Will SEC Finally Approve a Meme Coin Fund?Bitwise aims to launch a dogecoin ETF, tracking DOGE’s price directly. Will the SEC approve it? The industry anticipates more crypto ETFs in 2025. Bitwise Files for Dogecoin ETF Amid Growing Crypto ETF Trend Bitwise Investment Advisers LLC has formally submitted a registration statement to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a proposed […]
Continue Reading
Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Crypto

Argentina opposition calls for impeachment of Javier Milei after cryptocurrency collapse

Published

on

Argentina opposition calls for impeachment of Javier Milei after cryptocurrency collapse

Opposition politicians in Argentina have called for the impeachment of president Javier Milei after he touted a cryptocurrency which quickly collapsed and reportedly led to millions of dollars in losses this weekend.

Milei endorsed the little-known cryptocurrency token $Libra on Friday evening, announcing on X that the project was “dedicated to boosting the growth of the Argentine economy by funding small businesses and entrepreneurs”. His post linked to a website where the digital coin could be bought, the domain name of which included Milei’s popular catchphrase “long live freedom”.

“The world wants to invest in Argentina,” Milei added in the post to his more than 3.8 million followers.

The token immediately soared in value, from almost zero at the time of its launch to nearly $5, before plummeting to under $1, according to trading sites. Argentina’s fintech chamber said that the case could amount to a “rug pull” – a scam which sees cryptocurrency rapidly inflated, or “pumped”, before crashing while insiders “dump” their stake, making the tokens worthless. Other economists and crypto specialists said the digital asset could be a fraud or Ponzi scheme.

Milei deleted his post hours later, saying he was “not aware of the details of the project”, but the scandal has nonetheless sparked a political firestorm, and the federal prosecutor’s office will reportedly now examine whether the president engaged in fraud or criminal association or was in breach of his duties.

Advertisement

A group of lawyers filed fraud complaints in the criminal court on Sunday, saying they “criminally denounce the president of the Argentine nation, Javier Milei, because we believe that he is a fundamental participant in the development, execution and planning of the mega-scam related to the launch of the $Libra token”.

Jonatan Baldiviezo, a lawyer and one of the plaintiffs, told the Associated Press that he saw an illicit association to commit “an indeterminate number of frauds” in the episode. “Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the president’s actions were essential,” he said.

Opposition lawmakers, meanwhile, are calling for Milei’s impeachment. “This scandal, which embarrasses us on an international scale, requires us to launch an impeachment request against the president,” said lawmaker Leandro Santoro, a member of the opposition coalition.

Myriam Bregman, a prominent socialist leader and former presidential candidate, said “Milei is the one who must answer to the Congress. We want to know, step by step, who has benefited from it and how. This is not the first time he has been involved in something like that, but it is aggravated by his current role as president.”

Former president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner wrote on social media: “You promoted a private cryptocurrency from your official X account, created by who knows who. You inflated its value taking advantage of your presidential investiture. And, to top it all off, you say that you were ‘unfamiliar’! … From self-proclaimed ‘global leader’ to CRYPTO SCAMMER.”

Advertisement

Latin American leaders also weighed in, with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, saying that “it is extremely serious if confirmed, especially in terms of a president’s powers to promote something private”.

The incident has prompted comparisons with the US president, Donald Trump, who last month launched the $Trump memecoin, which also surged before crashing.

Milei retaliated to the criticism by blaming his opponents, whom he called “filthy rats of the political caste”, and saying they wanted to “take advantage of this situation to do harm”. The presidential office said that Milei was not involved in any stage of the cryptocurrency’s development and decided to remove the social media post to limit further exposure. It added that the anti-corruption office had been instructed to start an investigation.

Political analyst Marcelo García, of the Horizon Engage political risk consultancy firm, said Milei and his government need to “contain the crisis by giving a clear explanation of what happened” in order to prevent the incident from “escalating to a credibility crisis that could discourage the largest investment community”.

Cryptocurrency has exploded in Argentina in recent years, as disillusioned savers sought to keep their money outside traditional banks amid a decades-long economic crisis and soaring inflation rates.

Advertisement

Analysts have warned that the crisis could damage Milei’s reputation as a custodian of economic recovery – and an anti-corruption president – ahead of midterm elections later this year.

Continue Reading

Crypto

Argentina’s President Milei faces impeachment calls after promoting cryptocurrency | CNN

Published

on

Argentina’s President Milei faces impeachment calls after promoting cryptocurrency | CNN



CNN
 — 

Argentine President Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment after promoting a little-known cryptocurrency, whose price soared then collapsed after his endorsement, leading to losses for thousands of investors.

The news has caused a major scandal in Argentina, with the opposition accusing Milei of promoting a scam, an allegation that the presidency has denied.

It started with a tweet posted by the president to his X account, which has more than 3.8 million followers. “This private project will be dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy,” he wrote, with a link to the $LIBRA cryptocurrency project.

Hours later, Milei deleted the message and, in another post, said he had no ties to the initiative. “I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading it,” he said.

Advertisement

In response to a CNN inquiry, Milei’s team described the incident as a mistake. CNN has reached out to the National Securities Commission, the governing body of the capital market in Argentina, to determine if it will take action.

The presidency on Saturday announced an investigation into the matter, saying: “President Javier Milei has decided to immediately involve the Anti-Corruption Office to determine whether there was improper conduct on the part of any member of the national government, including the president himself.”

Up and down in a matter of hours

At the time of its launch, most of the cryptocurrency was held in a few digital wallets, and its price was almost zero. After the president’s post, its price increased rapidly to almost $5, but in less than three hours it plummeted to cents, according to trading application sites.

Pablo Sabbatella, an expert on crypto security issues, told CNN that Milei shared a “smart contract,” a kind of interbank code, of the Solana blockchain platform, which had became fashionable in recent months among investors who bet on highly volatile assets.

“The first thing I saw was that the website had been registered yesterday (Friday); (which) is typical of a scam,” said Sabbatella. He also indicated that the token was created minutes before Milei published the message.

Advertisement

“The whales (large holders of the asset) bought at practically nothing. Then the price flies and when it is up, they sell. It is known as pump and dump; that mechanic happened,” said Sabbatella.

He noted that he saw accounts that bought at very low levels earning more than $4 million in two hours, and one that earned up to $87 million with the sale.

Argentina’s political opposition criticized the president, with the Union for the Homeland coalition announcing Saturday it would move forward with a request for impeachment against Milei.

CNN has reached out to the presidency for comment.

Figures close to Milei rejected the possibility of an impeachment, with Congressman Diego Santilli calling such calls an attempt to “overthrow” the president.

Advertisement

Security Minister Patricia Bullrich defended Milei, telling Radio Rivadavia: “The president has the freedom of expression to raise the issues he wants.” She also compared his message on X with a presidential visit to a factory, saying that “it does not imply that he is creating a lobby for that place.”

Continue Reading

Crypto

Argentina: Milei faces impeachment threat over crypto post – DW – 02/16/2025

Published

on

Argentina: Milei faces impeachment threat over crypto post – DW – 02/16/2025

Argentina’s President Javier Milei faced criticism and threats of impeachment on Saturday after he made a post on social media promoting a cryptocurrency that quickly tanked in value.

Milei promoted a new cryptocurrency on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) which increased in value to $5 (€4.75) before quickly tanking to below $1.

Argentina’s fintech chamber acknowledged that the case could potentially be a “rug pull” — a scheme where a cryptocurrency’s creators quickly generate real investment to pump up the value before dumping their own stake.

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

What did Milei post?

Local media reported that Milei posted about a “private project” aimed at “stimulating the growth of the Argentine economy, by financing small businesses and Argentine entrepreneurs.”

Advertisement

“The world wants to invest in Argentina. $LIBRA,” the post reportedly said.

The cryptocurrency then increased in value, before tanking.

Milei deleted his post a few hours later.

“I was not aware of the details of the project and once I found out, I decided to not continue giving it publicity,” he said on X.

Chainsaw politics: Argentina one year under President Milei

To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video

Advertisement

Opposition slams Milei

Some opposition lawmakers said they would lodge an impeachment request against Milei.

Maximiliano Ferraro, of the center-right Civic Coalition, said Argentina’s parliament must create a “special inquiry commission” to “clarify the facts and determine responsibility.”

Meanwhile, former president and opposition figure Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner called Milei a “crypto-scammer.”

Edited by: Wesley Dockery

Advertisement
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending