Introduction
An Argentine judge has frozen assets connected to the Libra meme coin scandal following revelations of potential indirect payments to public officials. The investigation centers on Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis, who transferred $507,500 via crypto exchange Bitget shortly after President Javier Milei posted a selfie with him. Prosecutors suggest the timing and circumstances could indicate attempts to influence government officials, marking another chapter in the controversial token’s rapid rise and collapse.
Key Points
- $507,500 was transferred via Bitget by Hayden Davis just 42 minutes after President Milei posted their selfie together
- Libra token surged to multi-billion dollar valuation before collapsing 90% hours after launch despite being marketed as supporting small businesses
- Parallel investigations in Argentina and US are examining different key figures, with US courts having temporarily frozen $58 million in crypto before unfreezing it in August
The Suspicious Transfer and Asset Freeze
Argentine judicial authorities have taken decisive action in the ongoing Libra meme coin investigation, freezing assets linked to Kelsier Ventures CEO Hayden Davis and two suspected intermediaries. The freeze order came after investigators discovered that Davis transferred $507,500 via cryptocurrency exchange Bitget just 42 minutes after President Javier Milei posted a now-infamous selfie with Davis on social media. In that post, President Milei explicitly mentioned that Davis had advised him on blockchain and artificial intelligence matters, creating a direct connection between the two men immediately preceding the substantial financial transfer.
The Argentine Prosecutor’s Office has suggested this sequence of events “could constitute possible indirect payments to public officials,” though investigators acknowledge there is no concrete evidence proving the funds ultimately reached President Milei or his associates. Prosecutors argued that intermediaries Favio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and Orlando Rodolfo Mellino may have acted as “exit ramps” to obscure the money trail, with Blanco allegedly assisting in moving cash through safe deposit boxes shortly after Libra’s collapse. The asset freeze, ordered by the court and based on technical reports from Argentina’s Secretariat for Financial Investigation and Recovery of Illicit Assets, will remain in effect until the case is resolved.
Libra's Meteoric Rise and Spectacular Collapse
Launched in February 2024, the Libra meme coin was marketed as a revolutionary project to support small businesses in Argentina, gaining significant legitimacy through President Milei’s social media promotions. The Solana-based token experienced an explosive launch, rapidly pumping to a multi-billion dollar market capitalization as investors flocked to what appeared to be a presidential-endorsed cryptocurrency project. However, this dramatic ascent proved short-lived, with Libra crashing approximately 90% in value within hours of reaching its peak, wiping out billions in market value and leaving investors with substantial losses.
Amid the resulting chaos and confusion, President Milei deleted his promotional posts about Libra, further fueling speculation about his involvement and knowledge of the token’s operations. Analytics firm Bubblemaps later uncovered significant connections between on-chain activity from LIBRA and the launch of U.S. First Lady Melania Trump’s meme coin weeks earlier in January 2024. Both launches followed similar patterns: brief promotional surges followed by catastrophic collapses, raising questions about coordinated manipulation across multiple high-profile meme coin projects.
Parallel Investigations and Diverging Theories
The Libra scandal has spawned parallel legal proceedings in Argentina and the United States, with each jurisdiction pursuing different theories and key suspects. The Argentine case focuses heavily on the roles of Hayden Davis, Argentine lobbyists Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, and President Milei himself. Court documents reveal that three months before Libra’s launch, Novelli and President Milei discussed creating projects that would “monetize the image of the president,” with Novelli arguing that Milei’s image constituted a “very personal asset” that wouldn’t violate public ethics laws.
Meanwhile, the U.S. class action lawsuit presents a different narrative, identifying Meteora co-founder Benjamin Chow as the alleged mastermind of the operation while downplaying Milei’s direct involvement. The U.S. complaint alleges that both Javier Milei and Melania Trump were used as “props to legitimize” what plaintiffs characterize as “scam tokens,” with Davis and Kelsier Ventures allegedly operating under Chow’s instructions. This transatlantic legal divergence highlights the complexity of prosecuting cross-border cryptocurrency schemes involving high-profile political figures.
The U.S. courts initially froze $58 million worth of cryptocurrency linked to Davis and Chow in May 2024, but these funds were unfrozen in August when the presiding judge expressed skepticism about the plaintiffs’ likelihood of success. This development contrasts sharply with the Argentine approach, where authorities have maintained the asset freeze while continuing their investigation into potential connections between the suspicious transfers and public officials.
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