Uncategorized
State of Crypto: Do Kwon Pleads Guilty

Terra/Luna creator Do Kwon pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiring to commit fraud and one charge of wire fraud on Tuesday, following an earlier not guilty plea and a very lengthy extradition process.
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The narrative
Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon, who created the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin and its counterpart Luna (LUNA) token, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities, commodities or wire fraud and wire fraud
Why it matters
Terra and its related ecosystem blew up in spectacular fashion in 2022, with Luna falling from an all-time high price of nearly $120 to less than 10 cents over the course of five weeks. UST broke its peg, and the event was the first domino in the various other crypto company bankruptcies over the course of 2022.
Breaking it down
In 2021, Do Kwon repeatedly assured investors that Terra and Luna were safe investments, through tweets and appearances on programs like CoinDesk TV.
On Tuesday, he apologized as part of his guilty plea.
«Between 2018 and 2022 in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, I knowingly agreed with others to engage in a scheme to defraud, and did in fact defraud, purchasers of the cryptocurrencies issued by my company, Terraform Labs,» he said, going on to say he made «false and misleading statements» about why UST regained its peg.
As part of his plea deal, the Department of Justice agreed to recommend a prison sentence of no more than 12 years, and Kwon can apply for an international prison transfer once he’s served 50% of his sentence. One of Kwon’s attorneys noted that there are still outstanding charges against him in South Korea, the country Kwon tried to get himself extradited to during his extended stay in Montenegro.
Kwon’s statement spoke to that: «The purchasers who I defrauded were in the Republic of Korea, the Southern District of New York and elsewhere,» he said.
Stories you may have missed
- Paxos Applies for National Bank Trust Charter, Joining Stablecoin Issuers Circle, Ripple: Paxos has filed for a national bank trust charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
- Who Is Patrick Witt, President Trump’s Next Senior Adviser on Crypto?: Jesse Hamilton profiled Patrick Witt, who will succeed Bo Hines as a senior adviser on crypto to the White House.
- Wall Street Joins Consumer Advocates to Call for Edit to GENIUS Act on Stablecoins: Wall Street and consumer finance interest groups — including, interestingly, groups that might normally be at odds with each other — jointly signed letters to Congress this week asking lawmakers to close certain provisions in the GENIUS Act that might allow for stablecoin issuers to engage in regulatory arbitrage.
- U.S. Blacklists Crypto Network Behind Ruble-Backed Stablecoin and Shuttered Exchange Garantex: OFAC sanctioned a number of entities and crypto addresses tied to Garantex and its successor Grinex.
- U.S. Fed Officially Scraps Specialist Group Meant to Oversee Crypto Issues: The Fed closed its Novel Activities Supervision Program which focused on banks’ crypto activities (among other things) and was formed a few months after Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank and Silvergate Bank all collapsed.
- Trump’s SEC Chair Says Agency Is ‘Mobilizing’ to Update Custody, Other Guidance: SEC Chair Paul Atkins discussed the agency’s Project Crypto on Fox Business Friday morning.
- Hong Kong Regulator Tightens Custody Standards for Licensed Crypto Exchanges: The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission rolled out new standards for virtual asset trading platforms.
This week
Tuesday
- 14:30 UTC (10:30 a.m. ET) Do Kwon pled guilty to two charges tied to the operation and eventual collapse of the Terra/Luna stablecoin ecosystem.
Elsewhere:
- (D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals) Two judges on a three-judge appeals court panel ruled that a district court did not have appropriate jurisdiction in blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce the size of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, writing in part that, «The plaintiffs point to no regulation, order, document, email, or other statement, written or oral, purporting to shut down the CFPB» and that «the government does not claim the power to ‘shut down’ the CFPB.» Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a tweet afterward that the circuit court had «sided with my [Department of Justice] attorneys in our effort to dismantle the CFPB.» The circuit court panel did open the door for a potential en banc hearing with the full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
- (The Washington Post) The White House removed IRS Commissioner Billy Long after he clashed with the White House over sharing confidential taxpayer information, the Post reported. CNN also reported that the IRS did start «sharing sensitive taxpayer data [last] week with immigration authorities.»
- (The Associated Press) States are starting to take action against the possibility that Big Tech firms’ datacenters are driving up residents’ electricity prices.
- (Bloomberg) Bloomberg published an analysis of Tron creator Justin Sun on its Billionaires Index, saying he owns over 60 billion TRX (~$4.9 billion) — «the majority of its supply» — as well as $3.55 billion in other crypto holdings and $3.73 billion in HTX holdings. Sun filed for a temporary restraining order to block publication (although the page was already published), with exhibits confirming that his team shared wallet addresses and other information with Bloomberg to help the news organization verify his holdings.
- (Politico) The fallout from the hack of the federal court database system PACER continues.
- (Reuters) Reuters has a detailed report out about Meta’s artificial intelligence policies, from large language model chatbots inviting people to real addresses to enabling these technical models to engage with minors using language that seems to be more suitable for people who aren’t minors. Some of these provisions were changed after Reuters asked about them, the news organization reported.
- (New York Magazine) This is a lengthy and bonkers deep dive into two individuals accused of kidnapping an Italian crypto investor in New York. It is well worth your time to read.
If you’ve got thoughts or questions on what I should discuss next week or any other feedback you’d like to share, feel free to email me at nik@coindesk.com or find me on Bluesky @nikhileshde.bsky.social.
You can also join the group conversation on Telegram.
See ya’ll next week!
Business
Strategy Bought $27M in Bitcoin at $123K Before Crypto Crash

Strategy (MSTR), the world’s largest corporate owner of bitcoin (BTC), appeared to miss out on capitalizing on last week’s market rout to purchase the dip in prices.
According to Monday’s press release, the firm bought 220 BTC at an average price of $123,561. The company used the proceeds of selling its various preferred stocks (STRF, STRK, STRD), raising $27.3 million.
That purchase price was well above the prices the largest crypto changed hands in the second half of the week. Bitcoin nosedived from above $123,000 on Thursday to as low as $103,000 on late Friday during one, if not the worst crypto flash crash on record, liquidating over $19 billion in leveraged positions.
That move occurred as Trump said to impose a 100% increase in tariffs against Chinese goods as a retaliation for tightening rare earth metal exports, reigniting fears of a trade war between the two world powers.
At its lowest point on Friday, BTC traded nearly 16% lower than the average of Strategy’s recent purchase price. Even during the swift rebound over the weekend, the firm could have bought tokens between $110,000 and $115,000, at a 7%-10% discount compared to what it paid for.
With the latest purchase, the firm brought its total holdings to 640,250 BTC, at an average acquisition price of $73,000 since starting its bitcoin treasury plan in 2020.
MSTR, the firm’s common stock, was up 2.5% on Monday.
Business
HBAR Rises Past Key Resistance After Explosive Decline

HBAR (Hedera Hashgraph) experienced pronounced volatility in the final hour of trading on Oct. 13, soaring from $0.187 to a peak of $0.191—a 2.14% intraday gain—before consolidating around $0.190.
The move was driven by a dramatic surge in trading activity, with a standout 15.65 million tokens exchanged at 13:31, signaling strong institutional participation. This decisive volume breakout propelled the asset beyond its prior resistance range of $0.190–$0.191, establishing a new technical footing amid bullish momentum.
The surge capped a broader 23-hour rally from Oct. 12 to 13, during which HBAR advanced roughly 9% within a $0.17–$0.19 bandwidth. This sustained upward trajectory was characterized by consistent volume inflows and a firm recovery from earlier lows near $0.17, underscoring robust market conviction. The asset’s ability to preserve support above $0.18 throughout the period reinforced confidence among traders eyeing continued bullish action.
Strong institutional engagement was evident as consecutive high-volume intervals extended through the breakout window, suggesting renewed accumulation and positioning for potential continuation. HBAR’s price structure now shows resilient support around $0.189–$0.190, signaling the possibility of further upside if momentum persists and broader market conditions remain favorable.
Technical Indicators Highlight Bullish Sentiment
- HBAR operated within a $0.017 bandwidth (9%) spanning $0.174 and $0.191 throughout the previous 23-hour period from 12 October 15:00 to 13 October 14:00.
- Substantial volume surges reaching 179.54 million and 182.77 million during 11:00 and 13:00 sessions on 13 October validated positive market sentiment.
- Critical resistance materialized at $0.190-$0.191 thresholds where price movements encountered persistent selling activity.
- The $0.183-$0.184 territory established dependable support through volume-supported bounces.
- Extraordinary volume explosion at 13:31 registering 15.65 million units signaled decisive breakout event.
- High-volume intervals surpassing 10 million units through 13:35 substantiated significant institutional engagement.
- Asset preserved support above $0.189 despite moderate profit-taking activity.
Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards. For more information, see CoinDesk’s full AI Policy.
Business
Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin and Altcoins Recover After $500B Crash

The crypto market staged a recovery on Monday following the weekend’s $500 billion bloodbath that resulted in a $10 billion drop in open interest.
Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 1.4% while ether (ETH) outperformed with a 2.5% gain. Synthetix (SNX, meanwhile, stole the show with a 120% rally as traders anticipate «perpetual wars» between the decentralized trading venue and HyperLiquid.
Plasma (XPL) and aster (ASTER) both failed to benefit from Monday’s recovery, losing 4.2% and 2.5% respectively.
Derivatives Positioning
- The BTC futures market has stabilized after a volatile period. Open interest, which had dropped from $33 billion to $23 billion over the weekend, has now settled at around $26 billion. Similarly, the 3-month annualized basis has rebounded to the 6-7% range, after dipping to 4-5% over the weekend, indicating that the bullish sentiment has largely returned. However, funding rates remain a key area of divergence; while Bybit and Hyperliquid have settled around 10%, Binance’s rate is negative.
- The BTC options market is showing a renewed bullish lean. The 24-hour Put/Call Volume has shifted to be more in favor of calls, now at over 56%. Additionally, the 1-week 25 Delta Skew has risen to 2.5% after a period of flatness.
- These metrics indicate a market with increasing demand for bullish exposure and upside protection, reflecting a shift away from the recent «cautious neutrality.»
- Coinglass data shows $620 million in 24 hour liquidations, with a 34-66 split between longs and shorts. ETH ($218 million), BTC ($124 million) and SOL ($43 million) were the leaders in terms of notional liquidations. Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $116,620 as a core liquidation level to monitor, in case of a price rise.
Token Talk
By Oliver Knight
- The crypto market kicked off Monday with a rebound in the wake of a sharp weekend leverage flush. According to data from CoinMarketCap, the total crypto market cap climbed roughly 5.7% in the past 24 hours, with volume jumping about 26.8%, suggesting those liquidated at the weekend are repurchasing their positions.
- A total of $19 billion worth of derivatives positions were wiped out over the weekend with the vast majority being attributed to those holding long positions, in the past 24 hours, however, $626 billion was liquidated with $420 billion of that being on the short side, demonstrating a reversal in sentiment, according to CoinGlass.
- The recovery has been tentative so far; the dominance of Bitcoin remains elevated at about 58.45%, down modestly from recent highs, which implies altcoins may still lag as capital piles back into safer large-cap names.
- The big winner of Monday’s recovery was synthetix (SNX), which rose by more than 120% ahead of a crypto trading competition that will see it potentially start up «perpetual wars» with HyperLiquid.
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