Court Blocks $57.65M in USDC Linked to Kelsier Ventures

A US federal court docket has ordered the freezing of roughly $57.65 million in USDC linked to the embattled LIBRA meme coin. The most recent growth is a major transfer in an ongoing class-action lawsuit concentrating on alleged fraud.

The freeze, executed on Might 28 through a Short-term Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the Southern District of New York, impacts two Solana-based wallets tied to Kelsier Ventures – the agency behind LIBRA’s controversial launch. The authorized motion was initiated by Burwick Legislation, representing buyers who declare they had been misled by LIBRA’s promoters.

The lawsuit, filed on March 17, names Kelsier’s co-founders Gideon, Thomas, and Hayden Davis, in addition to Julian Peh of KIP Protocol and Benjamin Chow of Meteora. Plaintiffs allege the workforce orchestrated a misleading scheme that lured retail buyers into one-sided liquidity swimming pools, solely to empty over $100 million in worth by way of coordinated token dumps.

LIBRA briefly surged to a $4 billion market cap in February, following a public endorsement by Argentine President Javier Milei. The rally, nonetheless, was short-lived. Inside hours, the token plummeted over 90%, triggering investor panic and political fallout in Argentina. Milei later deleted his social media posts and on Might 19, dissolved the nationwide process drive that had been set as much as probe the incident.

In keeping with on-chain knowledge, the 2 wallets, containing over $44 million and $13 million, respectively, had been frozen by way of Circle’s infrastructure following the court docket’s order. A listening to on June 9 will decide whether or not the freeze stays in place because the case unfolds.

The ruling may set an essential precedent for asset safety in crypto-related lawsuits and sign stricter oversight for hype-driven token launches going ahead.