Argentina Pursues Arrest of Crypto Innovator Linked to Melania and Milei Digital Currencies
A sassy, untamed legal sparring has kicked off Down South, as an Argentine lawyer boldly requested Interpol to slap a Red Notice on Hayden Mark Davis, an American dough-faced entrepreneur who whipped up the $LIBRA memecoin. Argentina has its heart set on scooping up Davis, and why wouldn't they? The Argentine president, a guy named Javier Milei, showed off Davis's culinary creation alongside him. The coin took off like a rocket, only to crash and burn, leaving thousands of gullible investors penniless. Now, Milei's facing the chopping block, and Davis might be facing extradition.
Gregorio Dalbón brought Interpol into this wild rodeo this past week, arguing that Davis poses a unique risk of skedaddling. Dalbón claims that the 28-year-old crypto mastermind has the coinage and the itch to dance around the law. "If the possibility that Davis will flee his nest or hide to avoid answering for his dodgy deeds isn't amplified by the mammoth moolah he's got, then I don't know what is," Dalbón said, probably with some dramatic flourishes in court documents, which Fortune apparently got a peek at.
A Red Notice is like the international arrest warrant you'd find in an '80s action movie, a signal to the law enforcement agencies of the world to grab the guy and ship him to the country seeking justice.
Davis conjured up the $LIBRA memecoin and convinced Milei to hawk it on Valentine's Day. Its value orbited Earth and reached a market cap of $4.5 billion before crashing faster than you can say "Ali Baba's treasure." Over 10,000 people lost around $250 million, and Davis, lucky devil, cashed out a cool $100 million before things went south.
$LIBRA wasn't Davis's floppy debut in the pump-and-dump meme coin game. In January, following the birth of President Donald Trump's $TRUMP memecoin, Davis launched $MELANIA. There was confusion galore, as folks mistakenly believed that Melania Trump, the First Lady herself, had launched a memecoin just like her hubby. But it was all just Davis's shenanigans. Like $LIBRA, $MELANIA soared and then plummeted.
Davis and Milei weren't exactly secret about their 'partnership.' Milei overshared photos of himself cozying up to Davis on X, and Davis chatted openly about their relationship on podcasts. A report from CoinDesk suggested that Davis boasted that he had Milei on a leash. "I call the shots," Davis reportedly wrote in a text that found its way to CoinDesk. "I slip her sister some breadcrumbs, and she signs whatever I say and does as I please."
Davis's misconduct is the stuff of legends in the crypto community. On February 17, just days after Milei hyped the coin, entrepreneur Steven Enamakel spilled the tea on X about Davis leaving him with a $2,000 sushi bill.
According to Enamakel, Davis invited him to Nobu in Los Angeles to discuss the upcoming launch of an NFT collection. "Hayden ordered everything fancy and expensive on the menu," Enamakel said on X. "When the food arrived, I've never seen a person demolish so much sushi in such a short time. I wondered if it was physically possible to devour that much sushi, but there it was, happening right before my eyes."
When the bill rolled around, Davis disappeared into the bathroom. Enamakel waited 20 minutes for him to reemerge but eventually coughed up the cash himself because it was getting late and he had places to be. The moment Enamakel paid, Davis reappeared and promised to pick up the tab next time. "After that, he screwed up my NFT launch," Enamakel said, tossing a side-eye. "I should've known better."
The Argentine investigation into $LIBRA kicked off a few days after Milei hyped the coin online. The investigation is sniffing around to see if Milei and Davis colluded to cook the books. Potential charges for Davis could include bribery and lobbying for favors.
- The tech-savvy entrepreneur, Hayden Mark Davis, used his crypto mastery to launch the $LIBRA memecoin, which Argentina claims was used to swindle thousands of investors out of $250 million.
- The Argentine lawyer Gregorio Dalbón has requested Interpol to issue a Red Notice for Davis, fearing he might escape and avoid being held accountable for his tech-related transgressions.
- Davis's unsavory business practices extend beyond the $LIBRA memecoin; his previous crypto ventures, such as the $MELANIA memecoin, have also demonstrated signs of malicious intent.
- In a controversial move, Davis accumulated a substantial amount of crypto funds before crashes and managed to extradite a significant $100 million from the $LIBRA memecoin's success, while leaving gullible investors penniless.