Archive · 15 Dec 2025
Do Kwon Sentenced to 15 Years for $40bn Crypto Fraud
Do Kwon is a man who created two digital currencies called TerraUSD and Luna.
He told people that these currencies were safe and their value would stay the same.
But in reality, he was secretly doing things to make the prices look better than they were.
When people found out, the value of these currencies dropped a lot, and many people lost a lot of money.
The judge said Do Kwon did something very wrong and sent him to prison for 15 years.
He also has to give up some of his money and properties, but he won't have to pay back all the people who lost money because it's too complicated.
Do Kwon, a Stanford graduate, co-founded Terraform Labs and created TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies.
Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud, with the judge calling his actions a 'fraud of epic generational scale'.
Prosecutors said Kwon misled investors about how TerraUSD maintained its dollar peg, using secret arrangements to artificially prop up its price.
The collapse of TerraUSD and Luna in 2022 wiped out around $40bn in investor wealth, contributing to the broader 'crypto winter'.
Kwon agreed to forfeit $19.3m and several properties but will not have to pay restitution to individual investors.
- Who
- Do Kwon, a Stanford-educated entrepreneur and co-founder of Terraform Labs
- What
- Sentenced to 15 years in prison for fraud related to the collapse of TerraUSD and Luna cryptocurrencies
- When
- Sentencing took place in New York, with Kwon's actions causing a $40bn loss in 2022
- Where
- United States, with Kwon's company based in Singapore
- Why
- Kwon misled investors about how TerraUSD maintained its dollar peg, leading to a massive financial loss
- Name
- Do Kwon
- Age
- 34
- Education
- Stanford University graduate
- Company
- Terraform Labs
- Cryptocurrencies Involved
- TerraUSD and Luna
- Total Loss
- $40bn
- Sentence
- 15 years in prison
- Charges
- Conspiracy to defraud and wire fraud