“At 18:38 Argentina time on February 14, 2025, one billion units of the cryptocurrency $Libra were created. At 18:51, the market where $Libra could be bought and sold [known as the liquidity pool] was established. From that moment on, trading was possible, but no one had done it yet. The first transactions began at 19:01:00. There were 87 transactions from 74 different wallets, totaling USD 13.5 million. These first traders are known as ‘insiders’ because they intervene before the business becomes known, when the virtual currency had no value, or almost none, 0.0001. They evidently had information about what the President of Argentina, Javier Milei, was going to do 22 seconds later: Milei published a tweet promoting $Libra, which remained fixed for almost five hours, something he never does. It had the contract attached and linked it to his ‘Viva la Libertad’ project. These ‘privileged’ wallets with the information were also privileged in terms of profits: Some made four and even eight million dollars each in less than an hour when they withdrew the money.”
“It is impossible that such real and exorbitant profits with a virtual currency could have been made without the global visibility that Javier Milei gave it. In fact, among the 86% of investors who lost all their money, there are people from the U.S., Europe, Asia, Latin America in general, and from Argentina in particular. The scam ended up moving $4.6 billion when each unit reached a peak of approximately $5.20.”
The above was reported by the economics magazine Forbes in Spanish.
Milei’s partners in the cryptocurrency scam are U.S. citizens Hayden Davis and his brother Gideon, through their firm Kelsier Ventures. Gideon revealed the existence of a “LOI” (letter of intent) that “Argentina, at its highest levels, has just signed with us.”
His testimony aligns with what was posted on X by Hayden’s lawyer, Yanina Nicoletti, who claims to have in her possession an agreement sealed with the president. Hayden has always maintained that he has $100 million from “Argentina” and is awaiting instructions on what to do with that profit from $Libra. He also stated that they were paying Karina Milei, the president’s sister and Secretary General of the Presidency, and that this allowed him to control Javier Milei: “I send money to his sister, and he signs what I tell him and does what I want,” Davis said in text messages.
Cryptocurrency specialist Santiago Siri revealed that three of the four wallets that received the $100 million have “Milei” in their name. Blockchain ensures the traceability of cryptocurrency purchases and sales. This alone does not necessarily mean they belong to him, but the judiciary could verify the ownership of these wallets. “The labels are ‘Milei,’ ‘Milei CATA,’ and ‘VladMilei,’” Siri stated.[1]
“A multisig [multi-signature] wallet is a crypto wallet that requires more than one signature to authorize transactions. The most common ones involve two or three signers, where at least two out of three must approve to move funds. This ensures security but also allows coordinated access between different individuals,” Siri added.
Many businesspeople have publicly reported that Karina Milei demands money in exchange for access to the president. Bribes are another issue stemming from the large-scale fraud.
Charles Hoskinson, an engineer and mathematician who worked for the U.S. government, revealed a request for bribes to meet Milei at the Tech Forum: “Hey, give us something” (mimicking the gesture of counting bills), “we can set up a meeting, and oh, yes, magical things can happen.” The businessman realized that “this would violate FCPA regulations, and we can’t do that. It was a very frustrating experience.” The FCPA, or Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Unit, is the U.S. agency that combats bribery-related actions.[2]
All of them, along with other cryptocurrency “businessmen” in Argentina, were front-row participants in the Tech Forum event organized by Javier Milei in October 2024. This event was part of a series of meetings aimed at setting up the $Libra business. There are at least 12 recorded entries of these individuals at the Casa Rosada and the Presidential Residence, where Milei lives, to meet with him and his sister. Photos and videos of their connections are widely available on social media, including on official presidential accounts.
Milei has accumulated nearly 120 complaints in various parts of the world, including those filed in the U.S. In Argentina, there have been requests for his interrogation in Congress, though they have not progressed so far. However, the issue has firmly entered the political agenda and has begun to seriously impact the president’s image. The mid-term legislative elections will take place in October.
As if that were not enough, Milei attempted to defend himself in a televised interview with a pro-government journalist, but it turned into a parody that went viral worldwide. During the interview, his top adviser, Santiago Caputo, was caught on camera instructing journalist Jonatan Viale to change the question to avoid exposing Milei and coaching the president on what to say.
Although the government tried to suppress the footage, it had already spread on YouTube. In fact, a comedian in Spain even made a parody, mocking the presidential censorship. During the interview, Milei justified himself by saying, “I’m not an expert; even Davis himself says I know nothing about cryptocurrencies.” However, since 2020, he had been making money by giving cryptocurrency courses alongside two of his partners in the scam, Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, through the consultancy firm N&W Professional Traders.
One of the defining characteristics of Argentine society is the strong connection between economic and political power and the judiciary. It is unlikely that federal judge María Servini will truly investigate Milei, as his alliance with former right-wing president Mauricio Macri ensures his impunity. Here, the general feeling among the public and political leaders is that, with the Argentine judiciary, “nothing will happen.” However, expectations regarding the FBI and the U.S. SEC are entirely different.
The first movements for 4.5 million dollars have already occurred in those few. ↑
It should be noted that by Executive Order dated February 10, 2025, the Trump administration has “paused” enforcement to the FCPA. ↑
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About the Author
Hernán Viudes is an independent journalist and a graduate from The Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires. He lives in Argentina and enjoys music, culture and football.
Hernán can be reached at hernanviudes@gmail.com.