Argentina Orders Libra Asset Freeze in $250M Memecoin Fraud
Argentina’s federal judiciary has ordered a Libra asset freeze targeting US promoter Hayden Davis and intermediaries Favio Camilo Rodríguez Blanco and Orlando Rodolfo Mellino. The order freezes digital wallets, bank accounts and real estate linked to an alleged memecoin fraud worth up to $250M.
Prosecutors accuse them of converting Libra tokens to fiat, potentially tied to political lobbyists and cash withdrawals at Banco Galicia. The National Securities Commission has instructed all virtual asset service providers to block related accounts on local crypto platforms.
This cross-border investigation spans courts in Buenos Aires and New York. New York authorities previously froze $57M in USDC linked to Davis and the defunct Meteora exchange. The Libra asset freeze aims to preserve evidence and secure investor recourse amid rising regulatory scrutiny of crypto fraud.
Bearish
The Argentina judiciary’s Libra asset freeze and the prior New York court’s USDC freeze add legal risk and negative sentiment around the Libra memecoin. In the short term, traders may react with sell orders, depressing liquidity and price. Over the long term, ongoing investigations and regulatory pressure undermine confidence, limiting new investment and keeping the token under downward pressure. As a result, market sentiment toward the Libra memecoin is likely to remain bearish until legal clarity or resolution emerges.