Crypto mogul Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraud for $40bn market collapse

Terraform Labs co-founder, pleading guilty to two charges, was accused of misleading investors in 2021 about TerraUSD

Do Kwon, the South Korean entrepreneur behind two cryptocurrencies that lost an estimated $40bn in 2022 and caused the market to implode, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to two US charges of conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud.

Kwon, 33, who co-founded Singapore-based Terraform Labs and developed the TerraUSD and Luna currencies, entered the plea at a federal court hearing in New York. He had pleaded not guilty in January to a nine-count indictment charging him with securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud and money-laundering conspiracy.