Do Kwon's sentence, founder of Terraform Labs, will be decided today

Source: PortaldoBitcoin Original Title: Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon’s sentence to be decided today Original Link: Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon will face his sentence today, December 11,, in a Manhattan court, by U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer.

Kwon, 33, pleaded guilty to a series of fraud charges in August, after an international flight from justice, including conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud, and electronic fraud. The South Korean businessman admits to defrauding investors by making false claims about his company’s blockchain products.

He was arrested in March 2023 in Montenegro, using a false passport, before being extradited to the U.S. in December 2024. His journey to evade arrest also took him through the United Arab Emirates and Singapore.

In 2022, his company’s TerraLUNA/UST ecosystem collapsed, causing losses of up to US$40 billion for investors and triggering severe shocks across the cryptocurrency market.

Terra’s UST was classified as an “algorithmic stablecoin,” meaning its value was not backed by traditional assets like U.S. Treasury bonds, unlike USDC or USDT.

According to AP News, official federal sentencing guidelines recommend a prison sentence of about 25 years. In documents filed earlier this month, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Kwon to 12 years, citing his guilty plea, the time he has already served in Montenegro, and the fact that he will also face charges in his home country, South Korea.

“I am solely responsible for everyone’s pain,” Kwon said in a letter to the judge. “The community expected me to know the way, and I, in my arrogance, diverted them from the path.”

He added: “I made false statements out of recklessness, something that now causes me deep remorse.”

According to AP, Kwon’s lawyers requested that his sentence be limited to five years, arguing that his conduct was motivated not by greed but by “arrogance and desperation.” Do Kwon will also have to forfeit US$19.3 million, along with some of his properties, as part of a legal settlement.

Cryptocurrency sentencing in 2025

Prison sentences for the most notorious offenders in the cryptocurrency sector have varied significantly. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years for his crimes in March 2024. Meanwhile, Celsius crypto investment platform CEO Alex Mashinsky received a 12-year sentence in May 2025.

The founder of a cryptocurrency trading platform, Changpeng Zhao, was sentenced to four months of federal prison in April 2024 for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program on the platform. He was later pardoned by President Donald Trump in October 2025.