Following his extradition to the United States on December 31, Do Kwon, the founder of the now-defunct Terra Luna cryptocurrency ecosystem, has entered a not guilty plea to the fraud charges against him, as reported by Reuters on Thursday. Kwon's company, Terraform Labs, was responsible for developing the luna cryptocurrency and the algorithmic stablecoin terraUSD, which experienced a significant collapse in 2022, with estimated losses totaling $40 billion. Kwon is facing a range of charges, including securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment filed on Thursday, federal prosecutors allege that in 2021, Kwon provided misleading information to investors regarding the algorithm designed to maintain the value of the terraUSD stablecoin at $1. Magistrate Judge Robert W.
Lehrburger of the Southern District of New York has ordered that Kwon be held in detention pending his return to court on January 8. Kwon's extradition to the US follows his arrest in Montenegro in March 2023 on charges of passport forgery, after which he has been engaged in a prolonged battle against extradition.