Trending 
Do Kwon, the South Korean founder of Terraform Labs, has pleaded guilty to fraud charges in a New York court over his role in one of the largest collapses in cryptocurrency history. The plea, entered on Tuesday before US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, comes after the spectacular failure of his blockchain firm, which wiped out an estimated $40 billion in investor funds and sent shockwaves through global crypto markets.
Initially pleading not guilty to nine charges laid out in a superseding indictment in January 2025, Kwon changed his stance during the hearing. His sentencing has been scheduled for December 11.
The 33-year-old was extradited from Montenegro to the United States last year after being arrested at Podgorica airport in March 2023, carrying a fake Costa Rican passport while attempting to board a flight to Dubai. Prior to his arrest, Kwon had spent months evading authorities, leaving South Korea before the 2022 collapse and later moving through Singapore and other countries.
Terraform Labs, under Kwon’s leadership, launched TerraUSD, a so-called “stablecoin” designed to maintain parity with the US dollar, alongside its sister token Luna. Marketed as the future of decentralised finance, the tokens attracted billions in global investment and earned Kwon a reputation in South Korea as a “crypto genius.”
However, in May 2022, both tokens imploded in what experts have described as a sophisticated pyramid scheme, leaving thousands of investors with devastating losses, including life savings. The collapse fuelled calls for tighter regulation in the cryptocurrency sector, already rattled by a series of high-profile failures in recent years.
