Libra Advocates Reobtain Access to $57.6 Million in Cryptocurrency Following Judge’s Asset Unfreezing Ruling

Assets linked to the infamous Libra token—introduced in February with support from Argentine President Javier Milei—were unfrozen by a Manhattan federal judge on Tuesday. The judge indicated that she no longer believes the defendants would abscond with the funds, given their compliance with legal proceedings.

This follows U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Rochon’s previous order to freeze $57.6 million worth of USDC in June as part of a case where plaintiffs are pursuing over $100 million in damages. The assets were held in two wallets belonging to defendants Hayden Davis, CEO of Kelsier Labs LLC, and Ben Chow, founder of Meteora.

On Tuesday, Judge Rochon stated that the defendants were not displaying “evasive behavior” due to their adherence to the legal process thus far.

“It’s clear that monetary damages would suffice to compensate the potential class,” Judge Rochon remarked, as reported by Law360. “Plaintiffs haven’t adequately demonstrated irreparable harm.”

Consequently, the judge decided to lift the freeze on the $57.6 million in USDC on Tuesday. The assets remain unchanged in the originally frozen wallets, which still hold $13.06 million and $44.59 million respectively.

In making this decision, the judge noted her “skepticism” regarding the plaintiffs’ chances of prevailing in their case, represented by Burwick Law, despite the early stage of the proceedings.

“This decision reinforces our stance that the case is baseless,” said lead counsel for Davis, Mazin Sbaiti, a founding partner at Sbaiti & Company PLLC, in a statement provided to Decrypt. “Even with the chance to present all their evidence, there was no indication that our client did anything wrong. Today’s hearing and ruling expose the case for what it truly is.”

The plaintiffs allege that Davis and Chow misled investors regarding the Solana meme coin Libra (LIBRA), leveraging President Milei’s social media endorsement to add credibility to the token.

Chow’s attorney, Samson Enzer of Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP, stated to Law360 that the plaintiffs’ allegations are “untested and without merit,” and expressed eagerness to present their motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Burwick Law did not promptly reply to Decrypt’s request for comment.

This legal conflict is a part of the aftermath of the LIBRA token, which reached a market valuation of $1.17 billion before plummeting 97% to $33 million within 24 hours, according to DEX Screener.

Upon its launch, LIBRA was marketed by President Javier Milei as a means of funding small enterprises in Argentina.

Many traders interpreted this as the official token of the nation. While it seems implausible, it’s important to remember that the Central African Republic introduced a national meme coin that same week—and the U.S. President created his own meme coin the previous month, shortly before his inauguration.

However, Libra was not the official currency of Argentina, as rumors of insider trading emerged and Milei removed his post—leading to a dramatic decline in the token.

As the situation deteriorated, Davis embarked on a media initiative to clarify the events. He soon became synonymous with the Libra controversy, as numerous investors attributed the collapse to him. Davis asserted that he acted as an advisor to President Milei and his involvement with Libra was as a custodian of the funds—resulting in a liability of $100 million.

It was later disclosed that Chow from Meteora had referred a “handful” of projects to Davis’ Kelsier Labs, including the official meme coin of First Lady Melania Trump. The infrastructure of Meteora was also utilized for launching Libra. Additionally, on-chain data analysis by Bubblemaps uncovered connections between the wallets involved in the Melania and Libra token launches.

The scandal prompted Chow’s resignation from Meteora, as his anonymous co-founder, Meow, noted that he displayed a “lack of judgment” in trusting Davis.

Now, six months later, Chow and Davis have progressed further in clearing their reputations.