CAR memecoin dips; Argentina president backs $4B scam coin

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A new memecoin launched by the Central African Republic (CAR) government that hit $900 million in market cap has now lost over 96% of its value, despite the country’s president owning up to the new token.

Elsewhere, Argentine President Javier Milei is facing impeachment for supporting a ‘crypto’ rug pull that peaked at $4 billion.

CAR president backs token amid 97% dip

The $CAR memecoin launched on February 9 at midnight, and within hours, it was making its way to $1 billion. President Faustin-Archange Touadera announced the new memecoin on social media, describing it as his way of uniting his people, supporting the development and “putting CAR on the world stage in a unique way.”

After peaking on February 10, the memecoin has now shed 96.7%, with its market cap starting this week at $18 million.

The drop-off comes despite an acknowledgement from President Touadera that his government was behind the controversial project. Experts had identified red flags with the announcement, including the time of launch and a green screen video that some deepfake detection tools had identified as potentially fake. The suspension of the project’s X account and official website further fueled the scam claims.

However, President Touadera’s official press service has dismissed the speculation, claiming the announcement video was “100% authentic.” Speaking to one French language outlet, a source close to the presidency revealed that the announcement video had been recorded in front of a green screen in French, with a Paris-based entity charged with the English translation.

The president’s personal spokesperson, Albert Yaloké Mokpeme, later confirmed the report. On the midnight launch, Mokpeme said the team wanted to reach a broader audience in different time zones.

A day later, President Touadera posted doubled down on his support for the memecoin, dismissing any claims that his account had been hacked.

Touadera also posted a new video, touting himself as the “crypto president.”

“The future of CAR is in the hands of its youth,” Touadera stated, “…our vision is to teach them to embrace new technologies, including cryptocurrency, for the development of CAR.”

Milei faces impeachment over $4 billion scam coin

While the CAR leader stands firm in his support for his memecoin, Argentine president Javier Milei faces a criminal lawsuit and impeachment for supporting another scam token.

The eccentric leader posted on social media to support $LIBRA, a new token he said was “dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy.” Milei deleted the tweet a few hours later and distanced himself from the project.

“I was not aware of the details of the project and after having become aware of it, I decided not to continue spreading it,” he posted.

However, the damage had been done, and investors rushed to purchase the new token. The surging demand pushed the price of $LIBRA from basically zero to $5, translating to $4 billion in market cap in a few hours.

Unlike the $CAR memecoin, $LIBRA was a well-orchestrated scam, with some wallets accumulating millions of tokens before it blew up and dumping immediately after it peaked. According to blockchain sleuths at Bubblemaps, 82% of the token’s supply “was held in one cluster.”

Speaking to CNN, blockchain security expert Pablo Sabbatella revealed that dozens of wallets were generating millions of dollars by selling a token they had only held for four hours. One wallet earned $87 million in profits, Sabbatella noted.

Milei now faces legal consequences and a threat to his one-year presidency. A group of Argentine lawyers have filed a lawsuit against the right-wing president, accusing him of being directly involved in fraud.

“Within this illicit association, the crime of fraud was committed, in which the president’s actions were essential,” says Jonatan Baldiviezo, one of the lawyers behind the lawsuit. He told AP that the group is pursuing criminal charges for Milei.

Milei’s involvement could also cost him his seat. On Saturday, the country’s main opposition coalition, the Union for the Homeland (UxP), announced that it’s pursuing impeachment against the president.

However, experts say Milei is unlikely to lose his seat as an impeachment would require the support of two-thirds of Congress. While UxP holds a majority in both houses, smaller parties allied to Milei are unlikely to support his ouster.

All through, Milei has maintained that he was not involved with the project, nor did he know it would be rug-pulled. However, its founders insist that they have been working with the president and that he only backtracked due to public pressure.

“Despite prior commitments, Milei and his team unexpectedly changed their position, withdrawing their support and deleting all previous posts on social media,” said Hayden Davis, one of the project’s founders.

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