Do Kwon Faces 12 Years Behind Bars—Crypto’s Fallen Titan Pleads Guilty

Another crypto heavyweight crumbles. Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon—once hailed as a blockchain visionary—just pled guilty to charges that could land him in prison for over a decade.

The 12-year sentence looms like a bear market over Kwon’s legacy. Prosecutors hammered the final nail in the coffin after his empire collapsed in 2022, vaporizing $40B in investor funds. Poetic justice for the 'stablecoin' that was anything but.

Wall Street’s probably taking notes—turns out 'move fast and break things' works better when you’re not breaking laws. The crypto wild west is getting its sheriffs, one guilty plea at a time.

Do Kwon Will Get a Lighter Sentence Than Sam Bankman-Fried

Do Kwon signaled his intent to plead guilty to nine federal charges yesterday, incurring a potentially lengthy prison sentence. This process WOULD avoid a lengthy trial.

However, it was unclear how the court would exercise leniency in light of his stance. Today, court reporters have followed the Judge’s comments, determining that a 12-year sentence is likely.

AUSA Ravener: So the defendant could not appeal any sentence of 25 years or less. The agreement notes that if the defendant accepts responsibility and commits no new crime, the government will advocate for a term not to exceed 12 years

Specifically, Do Kwon agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud from the indictment. These charges could yield a sentence of 25 years to life.

• Count 1: Involves a scheme tied to the Terra blockchain, including Chai, Mirror Protocol, the Genesis Stablecoins, and the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG).

• Count 4: Wire fraud involving the use of interstate and foreign communications to carry out the scheme.

One, of course, is agreeing not to appeal the court’s verdict. Otherwise, Do Kwon will also have to pay over $19 million in financial penalties and accept responsibility for all Terraform Labs’ criminal misconduct.

Additionally, after this sentence is over, he will likely be deported from the US. Kwon is not a citizen, and he could be deported sooner. However, it seems like the Judge is inclined to have him carry out his sentence first.

This story is developing, however, and Judge Engelmayer could change his decision in the future.