Argentina Ramps Up Libra Crackdown with Sweeping Freeze on Assets
Judge targets promoter’s wallets, bank accounts and property as $100M trail widens across borders
Argentina’s federal judiciary has ordered a far-reaching freeze on assets linked to U.S. promoter Hayden Davis and two alleged intermediaries as investigators probe the collapsed Libra token. The order from Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi covers digital wallets, bank accounts and real-estate holdings tied to Davis, Argentine operator Orlando Rodolfo Mellino and Colombian trader Favio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco. Prosecutors said the move is designed to stop any transfers that could involve proceeds of fraud while authorities trace a money trail estimated between $100 million and $120 million. The National Securities Commission has been instructed to alert virtual-asset service providers so local crypto platforms enforce the freeze.
The case centers on Libra, a memecoin that surged in February after President Javier Milei briefly amplified Davis on social media as a blockchain and AI adviser. The token rocketed and then crashed within hours, erasing roughly $250 million in value and hitting more than 40,000 retail investors. Davis, who promoted other meme tokens, has emerged as the investigation’s focal point.
In a related U.S. action, a New York judge in May froze $57 million in USDC linked to Davis and collaborators at the now-defunct Meteora exchange. That freeze was later lifted after the court found no attempt to move the funds and determined restitution remained feasible. A separate investor lawsuit by American and Latin-American plaintiffs accuses Davis, former Meteora CEO Ben Chow and others of coordinating a “rug pull,” invoking the RICO Act and pointing to both Libra and Davis’s M3M3 project as part of a broader fraud pattern.
The probe has drawn political scrutiny in Buenos Aires. Court filings describe intermediaries converting tokens to cash around the time Davis met Milei at the Casa Rosada, fueling a “Cryptogate” uproar. No criminal charges have been filed against the president, and Judge Martínez de Giorgi stressed the freeze will last only as needed to safeguard evidence and potential restitution.
The synchronized actions in Argentina and the United States underscore how cross-border enforcement—and political flashpoints—now shape high-stakes crypto investigations. Despite the controversy, Milei’s La Libertad Avanza won the midterms, keeping him a prominent contender ahead of the October 2027 race.
