According to a judge's statement on Monday, Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, is expected to potentially change his 'not guilty' plea in a federal court hearing scheduled for Tuesday. This development comes after Kwon initially pleaded 'not guilty' to several charges of fraud and market manipulation related to the collapse of Terraform's Terra/Luna stablecoin ecosystem. Kwon was extradited to the US after a prolonged dispute with Montenegrin authorities, following his detention for attempting to travel with a forged passport.
A trial was initially set for January, pending the examination of six terabytes of data during the discovery process. Although the details of the potential plea change are unclear, the judge's order suggests that Kwon's defense team should review any plea agreement or related documents prior to the hearing. This case follows a previous ruling where Kwon and Terraform were found liable for civil fraud, resulting in $4.5 billion in penalties and disgorgement. The Terra network, which was once valued at over $18 billion, collapsed rapidly after its algorithmic stablecoin lost its peg, leading to a significant loss of value for its companion token.
A representative for Kwon has not yet commented on the matter.