US Court to Start 'Terra·Luna Crash' Kwon Do-hyung's Criminal Trial in January Next Year

US Court to Start 'Terra·Luna Crash' Kwon Do-hyung's Criminal Trial in January Next Year

The criminal trial of Kwon Do-hyung, the prominent figure behind the catastrophic collapse of the Terra-Luna cryptocurrency project, is set to officially begin in the United States next January. The news comes after a pre-trial conference held on January 8, 2025, where Judge Paul Engelmayer of the New York Southern District Court confirmed that the main trial will commence on January 26, 2025.

During the pre-trial session, it was also announced that another conference will take place on March 6, 2025, to continue the discovery process, which involves exchanging evidence between the prosecution and defense.

This marks Kwon's second appearance in a U.S. court. After arriving in the U.S. on December 31, 2024, he made his first appearance in court on January 2, 2025, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges levied against him. Kwon is facing a total of nine criminal charges, which include conspiracy to commit money laundering, securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and conspiracy to manipulate markets. These charges stem from the infamous collapse of the Terra and Luna tokens in 2022, which led to billions of dollars in losses for investors.

The U.S. Department of Justice has warned that if Kwon is convicted on all counts, he could face up to 130 years in prison. This is a significant development in the ongoing saga of the Terra-Luna disaster, which continues to reverberate through the cryptocurrency world.

The trial will likely garner global attention, as Kwon's case is viewed as a crucial test of regulatory and legal frameworks for the rapidly growing and often volatile cryptocurrency market. As the legal proceedings unfold, many are watching closely to see how the U.S. justice system will address such complex financial crimes tied to the crypto space.