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A federal judge in Argentina has ordered the identification and freezing of 25 cryptocurrency wallets connected to the $LIBRA memecoin scandal, the sprawling investigation that traces back to a token publicly promoted by President Javier Milei before it cratered in spectacular fashion. The order, issued by Judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi, hits wallets across some of the biggest exchanges in the industry: Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitfinex.
According to analyst Fernando Molina, no actual funds have been frozen from those wallets yet. The order is on paper. The money, apparently, is not sitting around waiting to be caught.
What happened with LIBRA
The $LIBRA memecoin launched on February 14, 2025. Argentine President Javier Milei publicly promoted the token, which was enough to send buyers flooding in. The price spiked. Then it collapsed almost immediately, leaving investors holding digital bags worth a fraction of what they paid.
Investigators now estimate the losses from the LIBRA incident exceed $250 million. The allegations center on what critics have called a rug pull, a scenario where insiders extract liquidity from a project while retail investors are left watching the chart go vertical in the wrong direction. Key figures implicated in the investigation include lobbyist Mauricio Novelli and Hayden Davis, a US businessman associated with Kelsier Ventures.
Prior asset freezes have already targeted individuals connected to the project, including Davis. The investigation has traced communications and proposed financial arrangements allegedly involving Milei and Novelli.
The freeze order and its limits
Judge Martínez de Giorgi’s latest move orders six exchanges to identify the holders behind the 25 flagged wallets. The wallets had reportedly been active in transferring digital dollars, suggesting attempts to move or obscure funds tied to the LIBRA project.
The fact that Molina’s analysis shows no funds have actually been frozen yet tells you everything about the pace mismatch between blockchain transactions and judicial proceedings. If exchanges comply and reveal the account holders, investigators get a map of where the money went and who touched it.
Shrinking plaintiff pool raises eyebrows
Five investor plaintiffs were removed from the proceedings on July 6 at the defense’s request. Opposition lawmakers in Argentina have warned that this could signal a path toward impunity for those involved in the alleged fraud.
What this means for investors
For crypto investors watching from the sidelines, exchange cooperation with law enforcement is becoming a regular feature of major fraud investigations. Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitfinex are all named in this order. Whether they comply fully and quickly will signal how seriously these platforms take their roles as gatekeepers when courts come knocking.
The LIBRA case also demonstrates that political endorsement is not a substitute for due diligence. A president promoting a memecoin should have been a red flag, not a buy signal.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
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