In the midst of the boom and subsequent outbreak of the $LIBRA scandal, the controversy surrounding President Javier Milei added a new chapter with the revelation of a confidential agreement signed with the American businessman Hayden Mark Davis, considered one of the central figures behind the failed cryptocurrency. The document, signed in the Casa Rosada on January 30, 2025, 15 days before the launch and collapse of $LIBRA, designated him as an ad honorem advisor to the State in areas such as blockchain, automation through smart contracts, digitization of public documents and training in artificial intelligence, under strict confidentiality clauses and written entirely in Spanish. The existence of this agreement – until now publicly unknown – revives investigations into the link between the Government and the crypto project that generated million-dollar losses for local and foreign investors, and raises new questions about Davis’s political and technical participation in the genesis of $LIBRA.
Months ago, NEWS investigated Davis’ secrets in a cover story by journalist Rodis Recalt. Below is the full article:
Hayden Mark Davis was never one of the big names in the world of cryptocurrencies. Until it appeared in Argentina. With his company Kelsier Ventures and surrounded by local operators such as Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, the barely 28-year-old North American settled in Buenos Aires with a promise of million-dollar businesses. His path began to become a reality after a series of meetings at the Casa Rosada and he even took a photo at the door of the Central Bank with all the actors involved in the $Libra scandal.
The end of this story is known: diffuse agreements, a cryptocurrency launched—and destroyed in a matter of hours—called $Libra, and a money leak that is still being traced. On the other side of the scandal, President Javier Milei observes with fear Davis’s movements: his interviews, his moves and even what he can declare in the legal cases that are progressing in both the United States and Argentina.
One factor that covers Davis’s figure with mystery is that he has a jealous job on his digital footprint. A simple search for his name on Google returns very few results. And this online cleanup job was not done after the scandal that skyrocketed over $Libra. It has been thought like this for a long time. He does not have an account on LinkedIn or other social networks. When Milei shared her meeting with Hayden Davis at the Casa Rosada on the social network The plan was in motion.
History. Davis was born in a Texas city called Plano, where he lived until he was 18 years old. He then continued his studies at Liberty University, a conservative evangelical university in Virginia, where he also played football on the Liberty Flames team, although he started only one game. He was an archer, like Milei.
In the little that can be traced from his digital footprint, he has presented himself as an entrepreneur, but with a poorly documented past before rising to fame. He created several companies since 2017, including Leaders Elevate, dedicated to leadership coaching, and Luxury Drip, a company with no known activity.
In 2020, she founded Kelsier Ventures, a key company in the launch of her two most famous cryptocurrencies: $Libra and $Melania, in tribute to the first lady of the United States. Kelsier Ventures is a Davis family business. Hayden is the CEO, his father Tom is the president and his brother Gideon is the chief operating officer. His mother, Emily Chynoweth, also participates, but she moved to Barcelona a few years ago, which means Hayden spends part of the year in Spain.
His mother is the granddaughter of a well-known character in North American police history: Ervil Le Baron, nicknamed “The Mormon Manson”, a sectarian figure within the Mormon community, creator of the Church of the First Born of the Lamb of God. This religious leader had 57 children with thirteen wives. Her story was the subject of an investigation and was portrayed in a documentary where Hayden Davis’s mother speaks. The story ends tragically: Hayden’s great-grandfather was murdered in prison, but before being imprisoned he had left the order to kill his son, Emily Chynoweth’s father. Hayden Davis grew up hearing these stories.
Davis’ father doesn’t have a much better background. He was denounced for falsification of identity, he was imprisoned and then, when he came out, he reinvented himself as a pastor and businessman.
Davis’ company is registered in Delaware. It became known in the crypto world for launching Melania Trump’s memecoin the week of the inauguration of the president of the United States and it was capitalized at 2 billion dollars. But her global fame came with Milei, because the cryptocurrency was worth twice that of Melania Trump. It reached more than $4 billion in market capitalization within half an hour of being launched. This effect occurred because Milei himself promoted $Libra with the argument that it was a project to invest in Argentina.
Now Davis has become a headache for the Government because all communication channels have been cut off and speculation has even begun about the actions the crypto businessman will take in his judicial strategy.
There were already some anticipatory signs. Davis was accused of sending messages in which he claimed that he had the Argentine president “under control.” “I send $$ to his sister and he signs what I say and does what I want,” Davis reportedly said about Milei. “I control that black. If I want him to post something, he does it,” he wrote.
Added to this is a striking knowledge of Milei’s movements, because he knew in advance that the President would give a television interview, which Jonatan Viale conducted and was interrupted by star advisor Santiago Caputo.
The two most important points about Davis’ power over Milei are money and information. On the one hand, he claimed to have 100 million dollars available and waiting to receive instructions on what to do with them. He said that this money “belongs to the Argentines,” without going into details. On the other hand, he is a key person in all the investigations that were triggered by the scandal.
There are investigations by the FBI, the United States Department of Justice, the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and also those initiated in Argentina. What would happen if Davis decided to cooperate with the authorities, especially the American ones, in exchange for judicial benefits? Davis’s brief lawyer in Argentina, Yanina Nicoletti, wrote in In the Casa Rosada they interpreted it as a signal to the Government.
A striking development from the last week of February is that Nicoletti would no longer be Davis’ lawyer. His role was limited to appearing in court and sharing on networks the threat of finding the “real perpetrators,” and then he would have withdrawn from defending the crypto businessman. According to journalist Pablo Duggan, Nicoletti also received threats from supposed libertarian netizens. NEWS tried to communicate with her, but she opted for a low profile.
Nexus. The evidence of Davis’ connection to Milei is there for all to see. There were meetings at Casa Rosada in which, in addition to Davis, Mauricio Novelli participated, who acted as a local link to bring the American closer to the President. There was also a certain Glenn Heard, whom Davis introduced as his uncle and said he was a friend of Donald Trump.
That same week Davis and Heard traveled to Vaca Muerta with their sights set on analyzing business. Another proof of the link are the statements of Gideon Davis, Hayden’s brother, who maintained that there would be a “letter of intent” signed by Milei to apply blockchain technology in different government agencies.
After the meeting with Milei, Davis and his local partners celebrated at the Four Seasons hotel. There was champagne, laughter and promises of expansion. There was talk of an agreement that would leave Davis in charge of the Argentine government’s crypto policies. A signed contract never appeared, but speculation grew.
One of the key figures in the connection with the Government was Mauricio Novelli, who met Davis at a cryptocurrency event in Denver. Then they met again in Dubai, in a similar meeting. Novelli has a trading course business, where it hired Milei in 2021 as a virtual teacher, and that link decided to exploit it commercially by organizing the Tech Forum event in Argentina, where the President was the main speaker.
In the front row of that event at the Hotel Libertador were all those involved in the $Libra case: his partner at NW Professional Traders, Jeremías Walsh; Hayden, Tom and Gideon Davis; the CEO of Kip Protocol, Singaporean Julian Peh; the CEO of the cryptocurrency purchasing platform Cube Exchange, Bartosz Lipinski; Manuel Terrones Godoy, YouTuber and partner in Tech Forum; and Sergio Morales, advisor to the National Securities Commission on cryptocurrency issues and a recurring speaker at technology events, where he is usually the voice of the Government on these issues.
At the event at the Hotel Libertador, next to Novelli was the influencer Romina Malaspina, who rose to fame for breaking the news in semi-transparent clothing on Channel 26. Today she is a well-known crypto influencer, DJ and model. This scandal found her participating in Big Brother Spain. He probably doesn’t know what is happening in Argentina with his friend Novelli.
The scandal crossed borders. In the United States, the Department of Justice and the FBI began investigating whether there was crime in the creation and collapse of $Libra. A complaint was filed that indicated illicit profits of between 80 and 100 million dollars, with damages for thousands of investors. The SEC was also alerted and an ad hoc commission was created to investigate crypto scams.
The case could lead to a class action lawsuit in New York. One of the firms that is recruiting victims is Burwick Law, which represents more than 200 clients from Argentina, the United States, Europe and Asia affected by the fall of the cryptocurrency.
Measures. The fear in La Rosada is palpable and they even began to suspect possible extortion by Davis. There are those, like journalist Horacio Verbitsky, who maintain that not only Davis, but also others, are trying to blackmail Milei.
In the following days, a fake account of “Yuyito” González appeared on X saying that if they did not give him 1% of $Libra he would reveal intimate information about the President.
After the scandal there were direct contacts between Milei’s entourage and Davis. An attempt was made to agree on a version that would protect the President and the Government. Davis was asked to avoid giving interviews and to handle the case discreetly. A meeting with a government emissary was even planned, as Davis anticipated in an interview. But then nothing more was known.
Today the whereabouts of the American are unknown. He could be in Texas, where his father lives, or in Barcelona, where his mother resides.
One of the darkest points of the case is the money route. According to the analysis firm Arkham, there are almost $300 million hidden in addresses linked to Kelsier Ventures. Davis has declared that this money “belongs to the Argentines,” alluding to the fact that Argentine companies had to register on the platform to receive financing. But blockchain transactions reveal something different. Three wallets handling at least $100 million are labeled with the word “Milei.”
In Argentina, federal judge María Servini delegated the case to prosecutor Eduardo Taiano. In the United States, the FBI and the SEC are already making progress in collecting evidence. In the Casa Rosada and the Quinta de Olivos, concern is felt in every hallway.
The $Libra case is not just a financial scandal. It is a political volcano in permanent eruption.
Rodis Recalt
E-mail: [email protected]
X/Twitter: @rodisrecalt
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