News Summary

Do Kwon, the South Korean entrepreneur and co-founder of Singapore-based Terraform Labs, pleaded guilty to two US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud related to the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies. The collapse, which occurred in 2022, caused an estimated $40 billion loss in the cryptocurrency market. Kwon entered the plea at a federal court in New York and faces up to 25 years in prison, with the government recommending a term of no more than 12 years as part of a plea agreement. He admitted to making false claims to investors about the stability of TerraUSD, involving a secret high-frequency trading firm’s actions to maintain its $1 value. Kwon also settled with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2024, agreeing to a civil fine and a ban on crypto transactions. He is among several crypto moguls facing legal action following the 2022 market slump.