Two Presidents' Mixed Fortunes as Cryptocurrency Prices Fluctuate

Milei Faces Impeachment Process Over Fraud Allegations

Bukele Enjoys 90% Approval Rating After Price Surge

South American leaders are experiencing contrasting fortunes in cryptocurrency. While El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele succeeded in re-election and gained high approval ratings through cryptocurrency purchases, Argentina's President Javier Milei is facing difficulties, including an impeachment motion in congress amid 'cryptocurrency fraud' controversy.

According to Reuters on the 17th (local time), President Milei is embroiled in over 100 lawsuits involving fraud and dereliction of duty. He is accused of participating in a rug pull, which refers to cryptocurrency developers absconding with investors' funds. When the new cryptocurrency 'LIBRA' was launched on the 14th, Milei promoted it on X (formerly Twitter), stating "This project will be dedicated to promoting Argentina's economic growth." The LIBRA developers claimed to be part of the 'Viva Libertad' project, honoring Milei's libertarian ideology and supporting innovation, and Milei endorsed this claim. After Milei's post, LIBRA's price jumped tenfold from $0.5 to $5 but crashed to $0.19 within hours. Milei quickly deleted his post and explained that he "was not aware of the project details."

The opposition criticized Milei for direct involvement in fraud. Socialist Party congressman Esteban Paulón introduced a bill on the 17th requesting the initiation of impeachment proceedings. However, many observe that actual impeachment is unlikely.

In contrast, President Bukele, who has been purchasing Bitcoin with national funds, maintains high popularity. Bukele won re-election last year, receiving positive evaluations for policies including 'gang crackdown.' His approval rating reached 91% as of November last year.

By Kim In-yeop, inside@hankyung.com