Crypto entrepreneur Hayden Davis told a U.S. judge that the LIBRA token was only a memecoin, not a funded project with a clear business plan.
He claimed in a document filed with Federal Judge Jennifer L. Rochon of the Southern District of New York. Davis faces allegations that he and his partners scammed investors by hyping the token’s launch.
Fight Over $280 Million in Frozen Funds
The filing comes as a private investor, Omar Hurlock, seeks to free up about $280 million tied to supposed gains from the failed LIBRA launch.
Hurlock’s lawyers asked Judge Rochon to force Davis and co‑defendant Benjamin Chow to answer detailed questions about how they ran the token sale.
The judge denied that request. Now Davis and his team are pushing back in court, arguing that Hurlock has shown no proof of actual losses.
No Evidence of Investor Harm, Davis Says
In a 30‑page brief obtained by Clarín, Davis’s lawyers accused Hurlock of leading a class action without showing that he suffered any damage.
They also called Hurlock’s attorney, Max Burwick, a “crypto ambulance chaser,” noting Burwick’s habit of soliciting clients on social media. Davis wants the case moved out of New York, suggesting Argentina or Texas as friendlier venues.
The most striking point in Davis’s filing is his admission that LIBRA was a memecoin. He acknowledged that neither he nor his partners offered buyers a tokenomics chart, a roadmap, or any infrastructure to back the project.
“There was no business plan,” the filing states. “The token had no intrinsic value. It was an unsecured collectable with extreme price swings.” This directly contradicts earlier claims that the sale would fund new Argentine businesses.
Milei’s Role and Withdrawal Endorsement
That assertion conflicts with a February post by President Javier Milei, who called the venture the Viva La Libertad Project and said it would support small businesses in Argentina. Milei later deleted the post and said she did not know the details of the token sale.
Tracking Crypto Transfers
Court records reveal fresh questions about Davis’s money moves. On January 30th, minutes after Davis met with Milei and businessman Mauricio Novelli at the Casa Rosada, a Davis‑linked crypto wallet sent roughly $500,000 to an account on the Kraken exchange.
That same day, about 42 minutes after Milei shared a photo with Davis on social media, another of Davis’s wallets sent $507 000 through the Bitget platform.
Blockchain analyst Fernando Molina traced that wallet, labelled yUBW, through several transfers to a Kelsier Ventures account ending in 9qEV.
The same addresses also traded the MELANIA token, another Davis creation inspired by the U.S. first lady. Shortly after its January 19 debut, that wallet received $4.9 million worth of MELANIA tokens.
Hearing Set for August 19
All parties will return to Judge Rochon’s courtroom on August 19 to argue over the frozen $280 million. Davis, Chow and co‑defendant Julian Peh of Kip Protocol are expected to attend.
Their defence team will push to shift the case to a different jurisdiction, while Hurlock will seek to compel fuller disclosure of token sale details.
The outcome of the August hearing could decide whether Hurlock recovers any funds and will test how U.S. courts handle disputes over highly volatile tokens.