Do Kwon, the infamous South Korean cryptocurrency mogul who managed to vaporize $40 billion in investor money, pleaded not guilty to U.S. fraud charges on Thursday after his extradition from Montenegro. This is the same guy who created the TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies, which imploded in 2022, wiping out fortunes and shaking the entire crypto market.
Prosecutors in Manhattan unveiled a nine-count indictment against Kwon, including securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. Kwon, 33, showed up in court in an olive-green shirt and black sweatpants, which seems appropriate for a man whose schemes cost investors billions while he strutted around like some tech visionary.
The charges center on Kwon’s 2021 lies about TerraUSD, a so-called stablecoin designed to be pegged to the U.S. dollar. Prosecutors allege that when the coin’s value dipped, Kwon secretly enlisted a high-frequency trading firm to manipulate the market and prop up its price artificially. This “Terra Protocol,” as Kwon grandly called it, was nothing more than smoke and mirrors. The deception lured institutional and retail investors into his web, boosting TerraUSD and its sister token, Luna, to a staggering $50 billion valuation by 2022.
Of course, the house of cards came crashing down in May 2022, taking TerraUSD, Luna, and much of the broader crypto market with it. Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies tanked, leaving investors in financial ruin. Kwon’s antics didn’t just destroy individual portfolios; they sent shockwaves across the entire crypto landscape.
Kwon has already agreed to pay an $80 million fine in a separate settlement with the SEC, but that’s chump change compared to the damage he caused. The judge ordered Kwon detained after his lawyer didn’t request bail, which feels like a small win for justice.
But let’s not forget who enabled the rise of characters like Kwon: the left’s unchecked obsession with “innovation” at any cost. While they were busy worshipping at the altar of crypto as the future of finance, real accountability was thrown out the window. It’s another example of Democrats cheering on chaos until it blows up in everyone’s face.
Meanwhile, figures like Sam Bankman-Fried and Alex Mashinsky—fellow members of the crypto grift elite—are also facing charges for their fraudulent schemes. Maybe it’s time to admit that the utopia promised by the crypto revolution is just another leftist pipe dream that ends in financial ruin.
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