On February 17, 2025, a significant market event unfolded when Argentine lawyers filed fraud complaints against President Javier Milei in criminal court, following his endorsement of the cryptocurrency $LIRBA. According to AP News, the complaints were lodged due to allegations of fraudulent promotion of the token (AP News, February 17, 2025). Immediately after the announcement, $LIRBA's price experienced a sharp decline, dropping from $0.15 to $0.08 within the first hour of the news breaking, as reported by CoinMarketCap at 14:30 UTC (CoinMarketCap, February 17, 2025). Concurrently, trading volumes for $LIRBA surged, with a total of 50 million $LIRBA tokens traded in the same hour, a 300% increase from the average daily volume over the past week, according to CryptoQuant data (CryptoQuant, February 17, 2025). This event also impacted other cryptocurrencies, with Bitcoin (BTC) showing a slight dip of 1.2%, moving from $45,000 to $44,460 at 15:00 UTC (CoinDesk, February 17, 2025). Ethereum (ETH) also experienced a similar decline, dropping from $3,200 to $3,150 (CoinGecko, February 17, 2025). The $LIRBA/USDT trading pair on Binance saw the highest volume spike, with 20 million tokens traded in the first hour post-announcement (Binance, February 17, 2025).

The trading implications of President Milei's endorsement and the subsequent fraud complaints are profound. The immediate sell-off of $LIRBA led to a liquidity crisis, with the bid-ask spread widening from $0.001 to $0.01 within the first two hours, indicating high market volatility (TradingView, February 17, 2025). This event has also led to increased scrutiny of celebrity and political endorsements of cryptocurrencies, potentially affecting investor sentiment across the board. On-chain metrics further illustrate the impact, with the number of active $LIRBA addresses dropping by 40% from 10,000 to 6,000 within the first three hours, suggesting a significant loss of confidence among holders (Glassnode, February 17, 2025). The $LIRBA/BTC trading pair on Kraken saw a similar volume increase, with 5 million tokens traded in the same timeframe (Kraken, February 17, 2025). The Relative Strength Index (RSI) for $LIRBA fell to 20, indicating an oversold condition and potential for a rebound if the selling pressure subsides (Coinigy, February 17, 2025). This event also influenced the broader market sentiment, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropping from 50 to 40, signaling increased market fear (Alternative.me, February 17, 2025).

Technical indicators and volume data provide further insight into the market dynamics post-announcement. The Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) for $LIRBA showed a bearish crossover at 16:00 UTC, with the MACD line crossing below the signal line, indicating continued downward momentum (TradingView, February 17, 2025). The Bollinger Bands for $LIRBA widened significantly, with the price touching the lower band, suggesting high volatility and a potential mean reversion (Coinigy, February 17, 2025). Trading volumes across major exchanges like Binance, Kraken, and Coinbase showed a consistent pattern, with $LIRBA/USDT on Coinbase recording 10 million tokens traded in the first four hours (Coinbase, February 17, 2025). The on-chain transaction volume for $LIRBA also increased by 200% from 1,000 to 3,000 transactions per hour, highlighting the heightened activity following the news (CryptoQuant, February 17, 2025). The average transaction value decreased from $500 to $200, indicating smaller, more frequent trades as investors tried to exit their positions (Glassnode, February 17, 2025).