Argentina's bonds recover from memecoin spill

LONDON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Argentina's international bonds recovered from early losses on Tuesday, as investors shrugged off the risk to President Javier Milei's position after he was embroiled in a row over a little-known cryptocurrency that crashed.

Milei late on Friday recommended the crypto coin $LIBRA in a posting on X, kicking off a brief rally. He later deleted the posting and denied having any link to the cryptocurrency, which soon plunged.

The country's fintech chamber said the case could amount to a "rug pull," a scam in which a coin's backers lure multiple investors, sending the cryptocurrency's value soaring, then quickly withdraw their funds.

Argentina's 2030 dollar-denominated bond fell nearly 2 points as markets reopened after the weekend on Tuesday. But they recovered roughly half the lost ground to stand at roughly 80 cents on the dollar by 1515 GMT, traders told Reuters.