Milei’s Crypto Blunder Carries Big Political Risks
The volatile Argentine leader’s credibility will suffer from his Libra endorsement. He can’t afford more unforced errors ahead of crucial midterm elections.
Libratarian or libertarian?
Photographer: Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg
Argentina’s president Javier Milei definitely did something very dumb: His reckless support for a dubious crypto coin called Libra on Friday night led to thousands of retail investors going bust once the unregulated token unsurprisingly collapsed within hours. Duh, what was he thinking?!
At best, this shows him unprepared and distracted from more important priorities, including trying to seal a much-needed agreement with the International Monetary Fund. As someone constantly boasting about his economic mastery and who embraced the singularities of the crypto world, he now faces the humiliation of admitting he didn’t totally understand what he was doing. At worst, the case brings up legitimate questions about what kind of deals are done in the name of the world’s most famous Liberal Libertarian leader.