https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/02/15/javier-milei-backtracks-on-usd4-4b-memecoin-after-insiders-pocket-usd87m BTC $96,011.96 - 0.91% ETH $2,744.89 + 2.36% XRP $2.6702 - 3.83% USDT $1.0002 + 0.01% BNB $667.83 - 1.72% SOL $179.21 - 5.21% USDC $1.0001 + 0.01% DOGE $0.2595 - 3.30% ADA $0.8062 + 3.12% TRX $0.2395 - 1.57% WBTC $95,843.05 - 0.90% LINK $19.15 + 1.10% AVAX $25.11 + 0.29% XLM $0.3364 - 3.07% SUI $3.2430 - 2.16% TON $3.7706 - 0.58% SHIB $0.041587 - 1.66% LTC $123.02 - 2.85% HBAR $0.2129 - 4.53% LEO $9.5388 + 0.27% Ad Sign Up * News Back to menu News * Prices Back to menu Prices * Data Back to menu Data + Trade Data + Derivatives + Order Book Data + On-Chain Data + API + Research & Insights + Data Catalogue + AI & Machine Learning * Indices Back to menu Indices + Multi-Asset Indices + Reference Rates + Strategies and Services + API + Insights & Announcements + Documentation & Governance * Consensus Back to menu Consensus * Videos Back to menu Videos + CoinDesk Daily + Shorts + Editor's Picks * Podcasts Back to menu Podcasts + CoinDesk Podcast Network + Markets Daily + Gen C + Unchained with Laura Shin + The Mining Pod * Newsletters Back to menu Newsletters + The Node + Crypto Daybook Americas + State of Crypto + Crypto Long & Short + Crypto for Advisors * Research Back to menu Research * Webinars & Events Back to menu Webinars & Events * Sponsored Back to menu Sponsored + Thought Leadership + Press Releases + CoinW + MEXC + Phemex + Advertise English Select Language English enEspanol esFilipino filFrancais frItaliano itPortugues pt-br Russkii ruUkrayins'ka uk Logo * News * Prices * Data * Indices * Consensus * Sign In * Sign Up * Finance Share Share this article Copy link X (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail Javier Milei Backtracks on $4.4B Memecoin After 'Insiders' Pocket $87M Milei deleted his original promotional tweet and revealed that he wasn't aware of its details. By Oliver Knight|Edited by Sam Reynolds Feb 15, 2025, 10:58 a.m. UTC (Planet Volumes/Unsplash) (Planet Volumes/Unsplash) What to know: * Argentine president Javier Milei posted, and subsequently deleted, a tweet promoting a memecoin called Libra. * The memecoin rose to a $4.4 billion market cap before tumbling by 95%. * Milei later wrote that he wasn't aware of the details of the project before promoting it. [86b6da8e-b385-485e-a] Argentina's president Javier Milei has backtracked on a tweet promoting a memecoin called Libra, which rose to a $4.4 billion market cap before plunging by more than 95%. In a now-deleted tweet, Milei initially wrote: "This is a private project dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy," along with a Solana contract address linked to the Libra token. Story continues Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today. See all newsletters [ ] Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy. Libra rose by more than 2,000% in a 40-minute span following the tweet, only to tumble rapidly as a group of early holders began to cash out. X account KobeissiLetter shared a series of BubbleMaps screenshots showing that alleged "insiders" liquidate tokens by adding one-sided liquidity pools on Metora with only Libra, allowing them to remove SOL and stablecoins. We just witnessed one of the fastest and largest destructions of wealth in retail trading history. Argentina's memecoin, $LIBRA, erased -$4.5 billion of retail capital in 7 hours. Truly destructive. https://t.co/oRg6aZwRgB pic.twitter.com/ DZCNExDypQ -- The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) February 15, 2025 Trading volume for Libra hit $1.1 billion after launch, although it appeared that purchases and sales were skewed; there were 74,500 individual buy orders and 28,900 sales - indicating that larger sell orders flattened the flurry of retail activity. Milei later addressed the botched memecoin on X, stating that he "was not aware of the details of the project." Hace unas horas publique un tweet, como tantas otras infinitas veces, apoyando un supuesto emprendimiento privado del que obviamente no tengo vinculacion alguna. No estaba interiorizado de los pormenores del proyecto y luego de haberme interiorizado decidi no seguir dandole... -- Javier Milei (@JMilei) February 15, 2025 "A few hours ago I posted a tweet, as I have so many other times, supporting a supposed private enterprise with which I obviously have no connection whatsoever," Milei wrote. "I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it I decided not to continue spreading the word (that is why I deleted the tweet)." The sell-off in Libra rippled across the wider memecoin market, with TRUMP losing $500 million from its market cap, according to market data, in a 30-minute period after Libra began to tumble. Javier mileiMemecoinArgentina Oliver Knight Oliver Knight is the co-leader of CoinDesk data tokens and data team. Before joining CoinDesk in 2022 Oliver spent three years as the chief reporter at Coin Rivet. He first started investing in bitcoin in 2013 and spent a period of his career working at a market making firm in the UK. He does not currently have any crypto holdings. Oliver Knight --------------------------------------------------------------------- About * About Us * Masthead * Careers * CoinDesk News * Crypto API Documentation --------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact * Contact Us * Accessibility * Advertise * Sitemap --------------------------------------------------------------------- Policies * Ethics * Privacy * Terms of Use * Cookie Consent * Do not sell my info --------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclosure Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated. CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one. (c) 2025 CoinDesk