Controversy Surrounding Javier Milei’s LIBRA Token

As Javier Milei’s endorsement of the meme coin LIBRA continues to spark controversy and confusion, Hayden Davis, a 28-year-old entrepreneur and CEO of Kelsier, claims to be left with a $100 million bag—and he might be in danger.

Davis has become a prominent figure attached to the Solana-based token LIBRA, which soared to a $4 billion market cap before quickly collapsing. This drastic fall occurred shortly after Milei promoted the token, declaring it “dedicated to encouraging the growth of the Argentine economy” in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter).

Milei has distanced himself from the project, denying any knowledge of LIBRA’s creation while Argentine lawyers investigate potential fraud, as reported by the Associated Press.

The launch of LIBRA has faced accusations of market manipulation and insider selling. Although the final legal consequences for Milei or Davis remain uncertain, Davis insists he never intended to take off with the funds. He explained that extracting value from LIBRA’s launch was a necessary move to ensure the token’s future viability. Davis acknowledged that the token was “sniped” by its developers to outpace other traders and stabilize the meme coin’s price.

Funds initially skimmed from LIBRA’s launch were proposed to be reinvested into the token itself, although the trigger to proceed allegedly never arrived. On questioning the ownership of the funds, Davis hesitated, suggesting that they might belong “to Argentina.”

An analytics firm, Bubblemaps, identified five digital wallets holding $87 million in Solana and USDC, derived from developers withdrawing assets from liquidity pools enabling LIBRA’s trading. As of now, three wallets still hold $82.9 million worth of USDC and Solana, while others have been emptied.

Additionally, one wallet reportedly made a $6 million profit by flipping LIBRA right after its launch, capitalizing on the hype following Milei’s now-deleted endorsement.

When it became evident that Milei’s follow-up post on LIBRA would never come, Davis recounted that his team discussed re-injecting the $100 million back into LIBRA but ultimately chose to refrain per instructions. In a recent interview, Davis expressed fear for his safety, indicating he has become a key player in a significant political drama around LIBRA.

Davis clarified, “It’s not a rug. It’s a plan gone miserably wrong with $100 million sitting in the account that I’m a custodian of.”