Circle Locks Down $58M in USDC Wallets—Legal Heat Meets Crypto’s Favorite Stablecoin
Another day, another crypto freeze—Circle just hit the brakes on $58 million worth of USDC tied to a Libra-linked lawsuit. Because nothing says ’decentralized’ like a good old-fashioned asset seizure.
When stablecoins play freeze tag: The class action lawsuit alleges shady dealings, and Circle’s response? Ice-cold wallets. Guess even crypto’s ’safe havens’ aren’t immune to legal drama.
Finance jab of the day: Nothing unites TradFi and crypto faster than lawyers circling a pile of money.
- Circle froze $58M in USDC linked to Libra wallets after U.S. court intervention.
- Libra token endorsed by Milei crashed 90%, sparking class-action fraud allegations.
- Argentine President Milei dissolves task force probing controversial Libra launch.
Circle froze two Solana-based wallets linked to the Libra meme coin team on May 28, locking a total of $57.65 million in USDC. According to Solscan, the Multisig Freeze Authority initiated the freeze at 3:15 a.m. and 3:18 a.m. UTC. Now immovable, the wallets had approximately $44.59 million and $13.06 million respectively.
The MOVE followed a temporary restraining order issued by a federal court in the Southern District of New York. According to Max Burwick of Burwick Law, the freeze resulted from a court order obtained at the firm’s request in relation to a class-action lawsuit. A hearing to determine whether the assets will remain frozen is scheduled for June 9.
ALERT: $57M OF USDC ASSOCIATED WITH LIBRA FROZEN BY CIRCLE
Two Libra accounts have just been frozen by Circle, including the Libra deployer wallet.
These accounts contained a combined $57M in USDC which is now immobile. pic.twitter.com/HpmaM5HwVJ
Circle, the issuer of the USDC stablecoin, can freeze USDC transfers when directed by courts or to stop illegal actions. The company has made no public statements about the request for a freeze. At the same time, Circle announced plans to go public on the New York Stock Exchange with the aim of a $6.7 billion valuation.
Libra Token Scandal Tied to Argentine President and Venture Firms
The controversy started in February after Argentine President Javier Milei posted on his X account that he supported the Libra token. After the post, the token’s market cap peaked at $4 billion but then dropped more than 90% almost immediately, leading to widespread accusations of a pump-and-dump scheme.
Plaintiffs in the U.S.-based lawsuit claim that executives at Kelsier Ventures and its affiliates—Gideon, Thomas, and Hayden Davis—created the token to siphon over $100 million from investors. Additional defendants include blockchain infrastructure firm KIP Protocol, its CEO Julian Peh, and Meteora’s co-founder Benjamin Chow.
Burwick represents plaintiffs, including Omar Hurlock, who allege these firms misled them into investing in Libra. The class-action complaint accuses the creators of manipulating liquidity pools and cashing out significant profits. The named defendants have yet to issue no comment.
Milei Dissolves Task Force Investigating Libra in Argentina
On May 19, President Javier Milei officially disbanded the investigative task force assigned to examine his involvement in the Libra token launch. Government documents published that day confirm the closure, citing that the investigation had concluded. However, no final report or findings were made public.
Milei had faced criminal fraud charges in connection with the Libra token, although Argentine authorities took no further action. Critics, including economists and Argentine lawmaker Itai Hagman, claimed the task force never conducted a genuine inquiry and accused officials of concealing misconduct.
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