Do Kwon faces 130 years in US prison

The trial of Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is tentatively scheduled for January 2026. In the context of the collapse of the Terra-LUNA ecosystem, which caused a $40 billion loss, the U.S. Department of Justice filed charges in March 2023.

During a hearing in Manhattan, prosecutors pointed to significant delays due to difficulties in evaluating the evidence against Do Kwon. It seems that four smartphones handed over by Montenegrin authorities need to be decrypted and many documents translated from Korean. Do Kwon was extradited from Montenegro to the U.S. only a week ago.

Since March 2023, both South Korea and the United States have tried to extradite Do Kwon, as the former crypto star has dual citizenship. When he was arrested by police in Montenegro, he was in possession of forged passports.

The suspected crypto scammer founded Terraform Labs, the company behind the Terra-stablecoin and its LUNA token, in 2018. Both crypto projects collapsed in May 2022.

A few days ago, Do Kwon pleaded "not guilty" on a nine-count indictment. The charges include securities fraud, bank fraud, property fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to journalist Zack Guzmán, who previously interviewed Do Kwon, the crypto entrepreneur would face a maximum prison sentence of 130 years can get. By comparison, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence.