From: allin
Argentina’s President Javier Milei became embroiled in controversy after promoting a meme coin called “Libra” to encourage growth in the Argentine economy [00:43:57]. This incident led to significant financial losses for many traders and is currently under investigation [00:44:57].
The Libra Meme Coin Incident
President Milei originally tweeted that this “private project” was dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy, including a link for citizens to buy the “Libra” coin [00:44:07]. Following his endorsement, the market cap of the coin surged to $4 billion before crashing by 95% [00:43:57].
Milei later deleted his original tweet, stating he “was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it, I decided to not continue spreading it” [00:44:27].
Consequences and Fallout
- Financial Losses: 74,000 traders lost almost 1 million [00:44:41].
- Legal and Political Repercussions: Milei has been sued over 100 times and is being investigated by his own government [00:44:51]. An impeachment attempt by the opposition is also underway [00:44:59].
- Admission of Error: Milei’s team told CNN that his endorsement of the coin was a mistake [00:45:05]. Insiders claim Milei never owned any Libra and was not associated with the coin, though speculation about family members putting him up to it remains [00:45:12].
- Developer’s Claims: Hayden Davis, the person behind the project, claimed to have Javier Milei in his pocket, with text messages seemingly implicating Milei’s sister in receiving money from the scheme [00:46:01].
- David Portnoy’s Involvement: Dave Portnoy, a known gambler, reportedly invested millions in the coin, and Hayden Davis supposedly returned his money [00:46:44].
Discussion on Meme Coins and Leadership
The panelists extensively debated the nature and implications of meme coins.
Meme Coins: Gambling or Financial Instruments?
David Friedberg stated he doesn’t like meme coins, considering them unproductive and akin to digital collectibles or gambling [00:47:07]. He believes they amplify the social feedback loop, leading to rapid value increases and significant losses for many [00:47:40]. Patrick agreed, comparing them to gambling that, if done responsibly, might be acceptable, but noted that people perceive them as assets with future price trajectories [00:48:40].
“I don’t like meme coins I think they’re bad and I think they’re part of like Patrick said a broader swaye of things that we need to figure out Society where the legalization of sports betting and combined with highly targeted advertising I don’t know if you guys have seen the stats on you know whales in sports betting losing very large amounts of money and it’s just these heartbreaking tales and there’s a very large number of them of people kind of losing much more than they expected and I don’t know we have to to reckon with these societal questions I don’t think the super easy answers they come along from time to time.” [00:49:49]
A particular concern is the “rugging dynamic” in meme coins, where snipers pump up bids at launch, leading to discontinuous run-ups and subsequent crashes [00:51:09].
Critique of Milei’s Leadership
Jason Calacanis strongly condemned Milei’s actions, calling it the “unbelievable self own of the decade” [00:49:45].
“What Milei did was he rug pulled the people who put him in office, the people who voted for Milei are the ones who got hurt here and when you think about leadership at its core it really is about putting the needs of your constituents ahead of your own interest the needs of your investors in the case of you know if you were running Stripe Right you got to think about all these shareholders leadership you know at its core is I think setting the example right you set the St the standard the moral the ethical The Vibes the culture you set that standard he had set such a great standard that we all loved and you know the appearance of impropriety is impropriety in my mind that’s the leadership standard that should be here so even being near this your sister launching it your brother launching whatever it is he then went on to taunt this is where I really you know like people make mistakes but and this is a stupid one to make but the taunting of his own followers you know I’m out on Milei right now this is what he said the reality is if you go to the casino and lose money I mean what is the claim if you knew that it had these characteristics this is another failure of leadership leaders own their mistakes they don’t attack the victims you take ownership of it and the way you should judge people I think is what they do when they’re given a lot of power and what they do when they make mistakes Milei is a failure on all of those those fronts it’s absolutely abhorent.” [00:52:31]
Jason argued that Milei’s attempt to distance himself from the project and his taunting of those who lost money constituted a failure of leadership [00:53:43]. He emphasized that true leaders own their mistakes and prioritize their constituents’ needs [00:53:43].