#美国证券交易委员会推进数字资产监管框架创新 The case of LUNA founder Do Kwon has been settled. He pleaded guilty in August last year in Manhattan Federal Court, admitting to two felonies: conspiracy to commit fraud and wire fraud. Now, all that remains is to hear the sentencing on December 11.

How will the judge rule? That's the key point. The prosecution recommends a starting point of 12 years, with a solid rationale — the scale of the losses caused by this case is unprecedented, with global investors losing about $40 billion. However, the defense will surely argue for a lighter sentence, requesting it be under 5 years. The final sentence will depend on how the judge exercises discretion within the plea agreement.

Just sitting in jail might not be enough. The plea deal requires him to forfeit $19 million in criminal proceeds and to liquidate personal assets. More harshly, as early as June 2024, he reached a settlement with the U.S. SEC, agreeing to pay $204 million to affected investors. His associated project, Terraform Labs, was also ordered to forfeit a large amount of illegal gains and civil fines.

This is not the end. After serving time in the U.S., he still faces charges in South Korea. Korean prosecutors have already filed fraud charges against him, with the maximum sentence potentially reaching 40 years in prison. In a sense, this case reflects the systemic risks in the crypto market — when project teams’ aggressive promises are seriously disconnected from their actual capabilities, the ultimate victims are always ordinary investors.