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T<\/span>he Argentinian president, Javier Milei<\/a>, is facing his lowest approval ratings since taking office in 2023 as newly published evidence allegedly reveals<\/a> a $5m financial agreement connected to his public endorsement last year of a controversial crypto project.<\/p>\n The scandal has tarnished crypto\u2019s reputation across Argentina<\/a> and set back the ambitions of industry insiders who saw the country as fertile soil for the growth of digital money.<\/p>\n Milei\u2019s promotion of crypto and the uproar over his alleged multimillion-dollar bribery come at a time when the economic reality for everyday Argentinians is grim. The libertarian president has introduced strict austerity measures to curb once-rampant inflation that triggered a recession and left many in poverty. The country is beginning to recover, but the once-rosy outlook of crypto\u2019s enthusiastic promoters, including the president, clashes with the outlook on the ground. Regulators\u2019 integration of crypto into the mainstream financial system has slowed in response.<\/p>\n On 14 February 2025, Milei tweeted his support for the $Libra token, a niche cryptocurrency purportedly \u201cboosting the growth of the Argentinian economy\u201d. After his tweet, $Libra quickly reached a peak price of $5 but rapidly plummeted to less than $1, wiping out<\/a> 13,000 token holders\u2019 investments to the tune of $250m.<\/p>\n The revelations of a financial agreement, initially published<\/a> last month by the Argentinian investigative outlet El Destape, contradict Milei\u2019s claim that he \u201cobviously\u201d had no connection to $Libra\u2019s organizers, and had simply happened upon $Libra online and decided on his own to promote it.<\/p>\n