By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 19th, 2024
Do Kwon has often claimed that his intentions for the UST stablecoin were legitimate as he sought to pioneer a monetary system that is independent of the influence of the US dollar.
South Korean regulators are so determined to bring Do Kwon to book and the latest move is centered on the freezing of 3,313 Bitcoin (BTC) linked to the veteran developer. As reported by Bloomberg, South Korean prosecutors have sent requests to top exchanges including KuCoin and OKX to restrict access to the total BTC worth as much as $66.99 million at current prices of $20,220.67 per data from CoinMarketCap.
The funds are tied to Do Kwon a renowned blockchain researcher, CryptoQuant analyzed that a new Bitcoin address was created by the Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) on September 15. Subsequently, the researchers show that the funds in question were then moved to KuCoin and OKX.
“CryptoQuant specified new Bitcoin addresses owned by LFG based on transaction patterns, adjacent flows, and material non-public information,” the researcher said in an emailed statement.
Do Kwon is the main face behind Terraform Labs, the developer of the collapsed Terra (LUNA) and the TerraUSD algorithmic stablecoin. The collapse of the LUNA and UST tokens lead to as much as a $60 billion loss, and besides investors who are suing the LFG and Do Kwon, South Korean prosecutors are also trying to prove that there the embattled firm and its co-founders broke securities laws.
Korean regulators have done quite a lot to get their hands on Do Kwon. The attempt to arrest the 31-year-old developer has been futile as there is a confirmation that he is no longer in Singapore. The regulators took the search to a whole new level and sought help from Interpol which recently issued a Red Notice for the arrest of Do Kwon.
Kwon on his part took to Twitter recently to reveal that he is not making any extra effort to hide. Without revealing his location, he claims he still goes out to shop and lives his life like normal.
Making Do Kwon a Scapegoat
Regulations guiding crypto transactions and investments are not robust and uniform in all countries. While both LUNA and UST have never been paraded as securities offerings, their collapse resulted in so many losses that regulators are finding it hard to let go.
The hunt for Do Kwon is considered a push to make him a scapegoat for developers in the nascent crypto world who may be planning to float a token with a relatively unsustainable model. Do Kwon has often claimed that his intentions for the UST stablecoin were legitimate as he sought to pioneer a monetary system that is independent of the influence of the US dollar.
The collapse of the stablecoin shows that the algorithmic model experimentation did not go augur well, and with billions of investor’s funds currently lost, regulators just need someone to take the fall, and Do Kwon fits the profile.