\u201cWe took a bullet.\u201d An official with regular access to the Casa Rosada reluctantly acknowledges the negative impact of the scandal caused by President Javier Milei\u2019s support for the launch of a cryptocurrency of dubious origin. \u201cBut we’re going to get out of this quickly,\u201d the official predicts optimistically.<\/p>\n
It remains to be seen whether this forecast will be fulfilled at the desired speed. It doesn’t look like it. Milei’s unprecedented silence online over the weekend, accompanied by the cancellation of any media appearances by members of the government, was only broken by a controversial television appearance by the President.<\/p>\n
In his interview,\u00a0 Milei tried to justify his promotion of the \u2018$LIBRA\u2019 cryptocurrency with flimsy, contradictory or false arguments. How does he go on to claim that he acted in good faith and then immediately state that the thousands of people affected knew that it was like a casino gamble? Just one fact will avoid misdirection: the scam was made possible by the President’s post, which he eventually deleted, and the fact that it remained there for hours. That is not disseminating, as he claimed, but publicising.<\/p>\n
Milei has a history of reckless involvement in problematic digital ventures, to put it kindly. Before and during his brief political career, he promoted (for money, by his own admission) the CoinX platform scam, a Ponzi scheme that promised extraordinary returns. Or we could recall the Vulcan token, which also collapsed and left a mess behind.<\/p>\n
Coincidentally, the man behind Vulcano was Mauricio Novelli, an Argentine who was involved $LIBRA. He is the young \u201centrepreneur\u201d who even once hired Milei to teach at N&W Professional Traders, his little school for financial sharks. Another teacher there is the medieval philosopher Agust\u00edn Laje, president of the new La Fundaci\u00f3n Faro, a libertarian thinktank.<\/p>\n
Novelli is the Argentine branch of $LIBRA. His name appears in official records, with a dozen entries to the Casa Rosada and the Olivos presidential residence. Thanks to his link with Milei and his sister, presidential chief-of-staff Karina Milei (who historically has also managed her brother’s money), Novelli brought the two companies behind the scandal closer to the pinnacle of power.<\/p>\n
One of them is led by US citizen Hayden Davis, who travelled to Argentina several times and even got a selfie with Milei at the Casa Rosada. Many in the government are looking to Novelli and Karina to explain the relationship with Davis, who has no prestige in the complex crypto universe.<\/p>\n
There is something worse. Davis is upping the ante, having taken advantage of the initial inflated quote of $LIBRA. First he claimed that Milei was part of the launch plan, which contradicts the President\u2019s version of events. Then Davis stated that he had US$100 million at the government’s disposal as a result of the \u201coperation.\u201d Leaked messages allegedly sent by him assured potential investors (or victims) that he managed Milei by sending funds to his sister, though Davis has backtracked. Is it The fiction of a con man? Or the tip of the iceberg of an opaque financing network?<\/p>\n
Davis’ remarks, pointing to the possible contribution of funds, underpins another allegation that went almost unnoticed. Charles Hoskinson, the renowned co-founder of the Ethereum blockchain, warned that when he attended an event in Buenos Aires last October \u2013 organised by Novelli and at which Milei was \u2013 that he was asked for money to secure a private meeting with the President and ensure that \u201cmagical things\u201d could happen.<\/p>\n
Contrary to the optimism of the aforementioned government official, perhaps the $LIBRA scandal has only just begun. It could have unforeseeable effects. Or not. You never know in Argentina.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nrelated news<\/h6>\n<\/p>\n<\/section>\n