Crypto fraudster sentenced for 'epic' $40bn stablecoin crash

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete December 12, 2025 at 01:21 AM

AI Summary

short article 2 min

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a New York judge for an estimated $40 billion fraud related to the collapse of the TerraUSD and Luna digital currencies. Kwon, a South Korean national, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud, admitting to misleading investors about TerraUSD, a stablecoin. Prosecutors alleged that Kwon artificially boosted TerraUSD's value after it fell below its $1 peg in May 2021 by arranging for a trading firm to secretly purchase millions of dollars of the coin. Judge Engelmayer described the fraud as "epic" and causing immense harm, highlighting Kwon's repeated lies to investors. The case is one of several prosecutions against crypto leaders following the 2022 digital token slump.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

New York 60% United States 70% Terraform Labs ×280% Do Kwon ×6100%

Keywords

do kwon 90% crypto fraud 90% stablecoin crash 80% fraud 80% misleading investors 70% terrausd 70% luna 60% digital currencies 60% algorithmic stablecoin 50% wire fraud 50%