NYT: Milei Spoke With LIBRA Figures Before $4B Run-Up and 90% Collapse

The New York Times reports that Argentine President Javier Milei had direct contacts with figures behind the controversial LIBRA crypto project in the hours surrounding the token's launch. According to forensic phone records cited by the paper, Milei and lobbyist Mauricio Novelli exchanged seven calls on the launch night, before the token was officially promoted on X. LIBRA briefly surged to a market capitalization above $4 billion before plunging roughly 90%. On-chain data reviewed in connection with the case indicates eight wallets considered strategic cashed out about $107 million near the peak. The episode is now at the center of a federal investigation in which Milei has been listed as a "person of interest." An Argentine congressional commission, probing a suspected $5 million arrangement tied to the token's promotion, described the president's role as "essential collaboration." Milei has denied wrongdoing, saying his social-media posts were personal rather than official. Local outlet El Destape has reported the existence of documents suggesting a multimillion-dollar pact related to advertising for the token, intensifying scrutiny over public ethics and the influence of political promotion on memecoin markets. The government has also dissolved a task force created to examine the scandal, days after a court ordered bank secrecy lifted on accounts linked to the president and his inner circle. The LIBRA case has emerged as a major legal and political test for the administration, combining extreme market volatility with questions of institutional accountability to investors.