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Do Kwon: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · The Stanford Graduate —
Do Kwon.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
Do Kwon was born in Seoul, South Korea, on the 6th of September 1991. He attended Daewon Foreign Language High School before earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2015. After graduation, he worked briefly as a software engineer for both Microsoft and Apple. In January 2016, he returned to South Korea to develop his startup called Anyfi. Internal investigations later revealed that this company received approximately $600,000 worth of government funding during its initial stages. That money involved a conflict of interest because it was approved through a Korean incubator company run by one of the co-founder's parents. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups found that the company had received failing grades in initial evaluation reports. Five counts of inappropriate use of funding for personnel expenses were exposed, although the money was reported to have been retrieved by the Ministry.
Building A Digital Economy
In January 2018, Do Kwon co-founded Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd. with entrepreneur Daniel Shin. Later in 2018, Terraform Labs released a cryptocurrency called Luna. The firm began selling its stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), in 2020. The Terra blockchain included both UST and Luna with stable mining incentives designed to create an elastic monetary policy. This system aimed to counteract potential low adoption and limited use cases. The UST stablecoin used an algorithm linked to the Luna supply to maintain a value of around $1. Unlike other coins pegged to cash, this mechanism relied on market algorithms. The value of Luna eventually reached over $116 in April 2022. During his time at Terraform Labs, Kwon also worked on various blockchain projects including Mirror, Prism, Astroport, and Anchor. The Mirror token ran on a decentralized finance platform related to Terra. It allowed people to disregard restrictions on stocks and other assets by making it easier to create and trade synthetic versions.
When was Do Kwon born and where did he attend university?
Do Kwon was born in Seoul, South Korea, on the 6th of September 1991. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Stanford University in 2015.
What happened to Terraform Labs and Luna cryptocurrency in May 2022?
The collapse began on the 7th of May 2022 when several prominent investors reportedly sold over $285 million worth of UST on Binance. The crash wiped out almost $45 billion of market capitalization in one week while Luna fell from an all-time high of $119.51 to virtually zero.
Why did prosecutors seek to invalidate Do Kwon's passport in June 2022?
Prosecutors sought to invalidate Kwon's South Korean passport because they believed he was hiding in Serbia which did not have an extradition treaty with South Korea. Authorities located him attempting to travel to Dubai using falsified Costa Rican documents and carrying falsified Belgian travel documents.
How long is Do Kwon sentenced to serve for his fraud charges?
On the 11th of December 2025, Do Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty on two fraud charges in August 2025. He agreed to forfeit US$19 million as part of a plea deal before receiving this sentence.
What specific allegations were made regarding political funding in Montenegro?
Documents revealed on his confiscated laptop showed he allegedly backed Milojko Spajić with funds for an election where Spajić served as former minister of finance and social welfare in Montenegro. Kwon and his lawyers later denied these allegations regarding political funding.
Beginning on the 9th of May 2022, Terraform Labs made headlines after UST started to break its peg to the US dollar. Over the next week, the price of UST plunged to 10 cents while Luna fell from an all-time high of $119.51 to virtually zero. The collapse wiped out almost $45 billion of market capitalization in one week. The crash began on the 7th of May 2022 when several prominent investors reportedly sold over $285 million worth of UST on Binance. On the 8th of May 2022, the value of UST hit a low of $0.985. In response, the Luna Foundation Guard loaned a total of $1.5 billion in an effort to defend the peg and mitigate volatility. Following the crash, Terraform Labs began trading a new cryptocurrency termed Luna 2.0 in June 2022. However, the release led to push-back from investors and critics. As a result, TerraUSD and Luna are now referred to as TerraClassicUSD and LUNC respectively.
Regulators Close In
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission began an investigation of Terraform Labs in June 2022. They sought to determine if marketing the stablecoin violated federal regulations on securities and investment products. Despite Terraform Labs being based in Singapore, TerraUSD falls under SEC regulations because Americans bought the token to fund businesses or seek profit. In February 2023, the SEC charged Kwon and Terraform Labs with fraud. On the 17th of May 2022, members of the Korean parliament called for a parliamentary hearing regarding Terraform Labs. The National Tax Service of Korea asked founders Kwon and Daniel Shin to pay additional taxes worth approximately $100 million in December 2021. The two founders refused to pay on grounds that their subsidiaries were not Korean entities. The service claimed that since the founders made practical management decisions while official residents in Korea, transfers needed to obey Korean jurisdiction. Before the SEC investigation, the commission issued a subpoena to Terraform Labs in 2021 relating to its Mirror Protocol. Kwon responded by stating he would sue the SEC instead of complying.
Fleeing With Fake Passports
On the 21st of June 2022, YTN reported that prosecutors were looking to invalidate Kwon's South Korean passport. On the 14th of September 2022, a South Korean court issued an arrest warrant for Kwon and five others on allegations of violations of capital markets law. Prosecutors said all six individuals were located in Singapore. By December 2022, authorities believed Kwon was hiding in Serbia which did not have an extradition treaty with South Korea. On the 23rd of March 2023, Kwon was arrested at Podgorica Airport in Montenegro. He was attempting to travel to Dubai using falsified Costa Rican documents. He was also found carrying falsified Belgian travel documents. Following his arrest, he was charged by a federal grand jury in Manhattan of eight counts including securities fraud and wire fraud. One month later, news reported that Kwon had sent 9 billion won equaling USD $7 million to law firm Kim & Chang prior to the collapse. On the 11th of May 2023, Kwon pleaded not guilty to charges of using a forged Costa Rican passport.
The Long Road To Prison
On the 19th of June 2023, Kwon and Terraform Labs' former finance officer Han Chang-joon were sentenced to four months imprisonment by a Montenegrin court for using forged passports. Kwon appealed the ruling but lost in Montenegro's highest court. In November 2023, the Montenegro High Court approved Do Kwon's extradition to either South Korea or the United States. The final decision to extradite him to South Korea was made by the Montenegro Minister of Justice. On the 5th of March 2024, the Court of Appeals overturned the lower court decision to extradite Kwon to the United States. That order required repeating the process to determine if he should go to the US or South Korea. On the 18th of October 2024, the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the extradition pending review of his appeal. In December 2024, another Supreme Court ruling gave the justice minister the final say. Bojan Bozovic ordered Kwon's deportation to the United States based on legal criteria. Do Kwon was extradited on the 31st of December 2024. In August 2025, he pleaded guilty on two fraud charges and agreed to forfeit US$19 million as part of a plea deal.
A Sentence Of Fifteen Years
Sentencing was scheduled for December after the August 2025 plea agreement. The US government argued for a sentence of no more than 12 years during proceedings. On the 11th of December 2025, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison. According to the South Korean special prosecution office, Kwon withdrew approximately $35 million worth of cash even after being arrested in Montenegro. Documents revealed on his confiscated laptop showed he allegedly backed Milojko Spajić with funds for an election. Spajić served as former minister of finance and social welfare in Montenegro. Kwon and his lawyers later denied these allegations regarding political funding. Announcing her birth in April 2022 on social media, Kwon named his daughter Luna writing that she was his dearest creation named after his greatest invention. On the 12th of May 2022, an individual investor who claimed to have lost approximately $2 million trespassed into Kwon's high-rise condominium building to demand an apology. As a result, Kwon's wife filed for emergency police protection while South Korean police began investigating the incident.