Do Kwon plays dumb as Terra-Luna investigations continue

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Do Kwon plays dumb as Terra-Luna investigations continue

Published: 16 Aug. 2022, 14:55 Updated: 16 Aug. 2022, 15:21

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Do Kwon insists that he has heard nothing from the authorities, despite investigations ongoing in Korea into the collapse of crypto currencies he created and other actions being taken — from class actions suits to regulatory inquiries — in the United States.

"We've never been in touch with the investigators. They've never charged us with anything. They haven't reached out to us at all," Kwon told Coinage in an interview.

The interview was conducted last month and released Monday.

"In terms of dealing with due process, it's not a question of how you are prepared to face, it's a question of how you are going to face them," said Kwon.

Prosecutors in Korea have raided the home of Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin, former employees of the company, offices of crypto exchanges and related firms, including Kernel Labs, a blockchain consultancy firm.

The prosecution has prohibited Shin and certain former and current employees of Terraform Labs from leaving Korea. A "notification upon arrival" order has been issued for Kwon, meaning that investigators will be told when he enters the country.

His current whereabouts are unknown.

The value of Kwon's TerraUSD and Luna, which operated together to maintain the TerraUSD pegged to the dollar, collapsed in May, wiping out an estimated $40 billion in value and destabilizing the crypto markets and the financial markets in general.

Luna was once No.8 globally in terms of market capitalization, peaking at almost $120 in April. It collapsed to trade at less than a cent.

Kwon said he still believes in Terra, even after his attempt with a Terra 2.0, a new coin issued on May 28 to rebuild the system, also failed miserably. Terra 2.0, which traded as high as $11, collapsed to $2.

"In terms of the future of Terra 2.0, one of the things that I'm banking on is a lot of the core of the community that was built up during the crash. I think they are primed to launch interesting things on top of 2.0 independent of the things that we do." Kwon added, "I'm always going to be doing things on Terra and for the Terra community. This is my home and this is where I feel like there's the brightest future."

BY JIN MIN-JI [jin.minji@joongang.co.kr]