Today in crypto, the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, faces significant political pushback after a token he endorsed became a financial catastrophe for investors, a prominent Bitcoin analyst claimed he moved all his Bitcoin into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and a scammer impersonated the Bermuda premier to promote a fake cryptocurrency token.
Javier Milei risks impeachment after endorsing $107 million Libra rug pull
Argentine President Javier Milei is facing calls for impeachment after endorsing a cryptocurrency project that collapsed in what analysts are calling a massive insider scam.
The Solana-native Libra (LIBRA) token started its rally on Feb. 14, shortly after Milei posted about the project on X, formerly Twitter. His now-deleted post included a website and contract address for the token, which was a “private project” dedicated to “encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy.”
The Libra token briefly rose to a peak market capitalization of $4.56 billion at 10:30 pm UTC on Feb. 14 before falling over 94% to a $257 million market cap in just 11 hours since the token debuted for trading on decentralized exchanges, Dexscreener data shows.
Milei’s deleted X post. Source: Kobeissi Letter
Milei may now face the risk of impeachment after Argentina’s fintech chamber acknowledged that the case may be a rug pull.
“This scandal, which embarrasses us on an international scale, requires us to launch an impeachment request against the president,” opposition lawmaker Leandro Santoro told Reuters, according to a Feb. 16 report.
Bitcoin analyst PlanB transfers Bitcoin to ETFs to avoid “hassle with keys”
Bitcoin analyst PlanB revealed that he has moved all his Bitcoin from self-custody into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), in an effort to manage his Bitcoin in the same way as traditional assets.
“I guess I am not a maxi anymore,” PlanB said in a Feb. 15 X post, explaining that he moved his Bitcoin (BTC) into spot Bitcoin ETFs so he can manage his holdings more like equities and bonds — without the complexities of self-custody.
Source: PlanB
“Not having to hassle with keys gives me peace of mind,” he said. While Bitcoin maxis insist users should always control their own private keys instead of holding their Bitcoin on centralized exchanges, self-custody comes with the responsibility of keeping those keys safe from hackers, thieves and other bad actors.
Scammer poses as Bermuda Premier David Burt and promotes fake token
A scammer impersonating Bermuda Premier David Burt used a fake profile to promote a fraudulent token called “Bermuda National Coin” on the X platform in a series of social media posts.
Upon discovering the scam profile, Premier Burt alerted users on the platform and brought the matter to the attention of X and Elon Musk.
Premier David Burt’s real account is pictured left, and the scam account posing as Burt is pictured on the right, with the discrepancies highlighted. Source: Premier David Burt
However, the page remains active at the time of this writing and has garnered more than 51,000 followers.
The fake profile features a gray checkmark — which is reserved for government officials — prompting Burt to question how the fake account was verified by the platform in the first place.
