Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has caused a political firestorm by promoting an unknown cryptocurrency token that shot up in value after his endorsement — then swiftly cratered.

In a post on social media Friday night, Milei said the coin, called $LIBRA, would stimulate the economy and help small businesses grow. While the sudden attention gave the token an initial boost, the huge gains were erased as fear quickly spread that the coin was a scam.

Milei deleted the post, which was on his personal account, five hours later and attempted to distance himself from the venture.

“I was not familiar with the details of the project,” he wrote on X, “and after having informed myself I decided not to continue disseminating it (that is why I deleted the tweet).”

On Saturday night, in another post on X from the official presidential account, his initial endorsement of the coin was described as a routine promotion of a business. It also said the president had opened investigations into whether anyone in his government, including himself, had acted inappropriately and whether anyone involved with the coin had broken the law.

Milei had come under fire for apparently pushing people toward a risky investment. His initial post also prompted comparisons with U.S. President Donald Trump, who launched a memecoin, $Trump, last month. That token surged for a while and then crashed.

A center-left coalition that opposes Milei’s libertarian government called his crypto foray “a scandal without precedent.” Another political bloc said it is seeking to create a commission in Congress to investigate what occurred.

Former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Milei’s main political opponent, said thousands of people who had trusted him lost millions of dollars in all, “while many made fortunes due to privileged information.”

Milei’s promotion of $LIBRA is the latest in a series of moves he has made in parallel with Trump. Milei withdrew Argentina from the World Health Organization this month, and his staff has said the government is examining whether to withdraw from the Paris climate accord.

The coin promoted by Milei was presented as an investment tool that would be good for the country.