Today in crypto, Argentine President Javier Milei shuts down a task force investigating the fallout from LIBRA. Germany’s summer 2024 Bitcoin sale is looking like a $2.3 billion blunder, and the US Senate moves forward with a key stablecoin bill.
Argentina’s Milei shuts down task force investigating LIBRA scandal
Argentine President Javier Milei has dissolved a task force established to investigate the fallout from LIBRA, the scandalous cryptocurrency project the head of state promoted on his social media channel before it crashed to zero.
The Investigative Task Force (ITU) was dissolved via a May 19 decree signed by Milei and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona, government documents revealed.
“The Research Task Unit is dissolved” after completing its mandate, the translated version of the decree read.
The task force is being dissolved despite pressure from opposition groups, which are seeking to activate an investigative commission as soon as May 20, local media outlet Clarin reported.
Government officials established the UTI on Feb. 19, days after Milei promoted LIBRA on his official X account.
A screenshot of Milei’s tweet endorsing LIBRA. Source: TRM Labs
His endorsement briefly sent LIBRA soaring from practically worthless to $5 a token and a nearly $5 billion market capitalization, before quickly crashing to zero in what appeared to be a classic pump-and-dump scheme.
The fallout from LIBRA sparked allegations of insider trading and manipulation, with Milei caught in the crosshairs.
German government missed out on $2.3 billion profit after selling Bitcoin at $57,000
The German government missed out on more than $2 billion worth of Bitcoin profit after selling its holdings in 2024, according to blockchain intelligence firm Arkham.
A “German Government (BKA)” labeled cryptocurrency wallet sold 49,858 Bitcoin (BTC) worth over $2.89 billion at an average price of $57,900 across multiple transactions during June and July in 2024.
The decision to sell the Bitcoin early cost the German government over $2.35 billion, according to crypto intelligence platform Arkham.
Source: Arkham
“If they had held it, their BTC would now be worth $5.24B,” Arkham said in a May 19 X post, noting that Bitcoin has risen more than 80% since the sale.
At the time of publication, Bitcoin was trading at more than $104,700, according to CoinMarketCap data.
The German government-labeled wallet first raised speculation of a potential sell-off on June 19, 2024, when it executed a 6,500 BTC transfer worth over $425 million.
The wallet originally held around 50,000 BTC, believed to have been seized from the operators of Movie2k, a now-defunct pirated film site.
US Senate moves forward with GENIUS stablecoin bill
The US Senate voted 66-32 on May 19 local time to advance a key stablecoin-regulating bill after Democratic senators blocked an earlier attempt to move the bill forward over concerns about President Donald Trump’s crypto interests.
Several Democrats changed their votes to pass a motion to invoke cloture on the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or GENIUS Act, which will now set the bill up for debate on the Senate floor.
Previously, on May 8, some Democratic senators withdrew support for the bill and blocked a motion to move it forward, citing concerns over potential conflicts of interest involving Trump’s various crypto ventures and the bill’s Anti-Money Laundering provisions.
The US Senate voted 66-32 to advance debate on the GENIUS stablecoin bill. Source: US Senate
Democratic Senator Mark Warner said before the vote that the US couldn’t “afford to keep standing on the sidelines,” while crypto-skeptic Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren argued before the vote that it failed to address Trump’s “blatant crypto corruption.”
Republican Senator Cynthia Lummis, one of the bill’s key backers, has said she thinks it’s a “fair target” to have the bill passed by May 26.
