Crypto tycoon who caused '22 crash sentenced to 15 years

Do Kwon, a crypto entrepreneur who created two virtual currencies that spectacularly melted down, prompting a market crisis in 2022, was sentenced to 15 years in prison Thursday.

- EMMETT LINDNER DAVID YAFFE-BELLANY NEWYORK (NYT)

Do Kwon, a crypto entrepreneur who went on the run after the crash of two virtual currencies that he started, is escorted by Montenegrin police in March 2024.

(Photo: AP)

Kwon, 34, became a cautionary tale of crypto hubris when the digital currencies he designed - TerraUSD and Luna — lost all their value practically overnight. The crash caused a chain reaction that led to the collapse of a string of major crypto companies. Kwon was charged with fraud and eventually pleaded guilty after an international search spanning Asia and Europe.

Kwon’s lawyers had sought a sentence of no more than five years, arguing that his criminal behaviour flowed from arrogance and desperation, rather than personal greed. Prosecutors argued that he should receive a 12-year sentence, because he had lied to investors about his cryptocurrencies and then “fled from the wreckage” when the coins imploded.

When Kwon’s 15-year sentence was handed down in federal court in the Southern District of New York, Judge Paul Engelmayer said he decided to go over the 12-year recommendation from prosecutors because the crimes amounted to “fraud on an epic, generational scale.”