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Terraform Labs co-founders ready for legal battle despite escalating public ire

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs, is transferred to a court in Podgorica, Montenegro, May 11. YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungScandal-tainted Terraform Labs' co-founders ― Kwon Do-hyung, better known as Do Kwon, and Shin Hyun-seong ― are poised to engage in an all-out legal fight against criminal charges regarding the abrupt collapse of the firm's once-promising Luna coin.Both men have displayed a strong will to “prove their innocence” with their legal representatives. They have refrained from showing any gestures of remorse for their engagement in the mega-sized crypto scandal which incurred investors' losses worth 60 trillion won ($44.6 billion) around the world.The public's ire is escalating further after Montenegro officially allowed a bail term on Kwon who has been detained in the country on charges of document forgery. Kwon's lawyer also expressed confidence over his possible acquittal.Following the latest decision by Montenegro's court, Kwon will be confined to an apartment there with a condition blocking him from leaving his residential facility amid the ongoing trial.

May 14, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Terraform Labs co-founders ready for legal battle despite escalating public ire

Montenegro court agrees to release founder of Terraform Labs on bail

Police officers escort Korean crypto mogul Do Kwon, center, in Podgorica, Montenegro, May 11. EPA-YonhapA court in Montenegro agreed to release Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon from jail Friday along with another Korean citizen who also is charged with using forged identification documents in the Balkan country.The Basic Court Podgorica accepted 400,000 euros ($435,000) in bail for each of the two suspects pending the outcome of their trial but prohibited them from leaving their apartment, which will be guarded by Montenegrin police, according to a statement.“They promised ... they will not hide until the end of the criminal procedures, that they will regularly answer court summons and that they will be available on the address submitted by their attorney,” the court said.“If the defendants run away or violate the surveillance measure, the bail will fall through and will be added to the special budget for court work,” the statement added.Do Kwon, 31, and the other man have pleaded not guilty. Their trial in Montenegro opened Thursday.Do Kwon was arrested in Mont

May 12, 2023
Montenegro court agrees to release founder of Terraform Labs on bail

Assembly ready to pass crypto regulation bill amid growing irregularities

The National Policy Committee approves a crypto regulation bill at the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. YonhapBipartisan support for bill formed amid lawmaker's coin scandal By Anna J. ParkAmid a growing scandal surrounding a main opposition lawmaker's coin speculation, the Assembly's National Policy Committee greenlighted a cryptocurrency regulation bill on Thursday. It was the first time ever that a bill stipulating regulations on cryptocurrency was passed by a National Assembly committee. As the bill cleared the first hurdle toward being written into law, it is expected that the bill could pass the National Assembly's plenary session as early as May 25, after the Legislation and Judiciary Committee gives a thorough review. The bill is aimed at protecting digital asset investors, preventing unfair trading of cryptocurrencies and establishing a stable coin trading framework. The bill integrated 19 similar cryptocurrency-related bills submitted to the Assembly. The bill also grants supervisory authority over cryptocurrencies to the Financial Services Commission, the country's to

May 12, 2023By Anna J. Park
Assembly ready to pass crypto regulation bill amid growing irregularities

Terraform co-founder pleads not guilty, seeks bail in Montenegro

Police officers escort Korean crypto mogul Kwon Do, left, in Podgorica, Montenegro, May 11. EPA-YonhapDo Kwon, a cryptocurrency firm founder who has been detained in Montenegro after being on the run over alleged massive fraud in South Korea, has applied for bail, according to local court officials Thursday. Also known by his full name, Kwon Do-hyeong, he pleaded not guilty and filed the bail request with a district court in the Balkan country, where he was arrested in March on charges of forging his passport and falsifying other official documents, officials said. An aide of Kwon's, known only by his last name Han, who has been detained alongside him, also applied for bail. Kwon and Han offered to each pay 400,000 euros ($436,000) in bail money.Kwon, 32, had been on the run after fleeing his country while being investigated in connection with the crash of his cryptocurrency firm Terraform Labs' TerraUSD and Luna coins in May last year, which wiped out nearly 50 trillion won ($37.5 billion) in market value. Appearing at the court hearing for bail, Kwon claimed his Costa Rican passpor

May 12, 2023
Terraform co-founder pleads not guilty, seeks bail in Montenegro

Deficit widens for banks' crypto custody business on market slowdown

gettyimagesbank By Lee Min-hyungFour major lenders ― KB, Shinhan, Woori and NongHyup ― are experiencing widening losses in their investments in crypto custody business operators, hit by the market's abrupt slump over the past two years, data showed Thursday.The digital custody business, which refers to various methods of storing and protecting digital assets on behalf of their owners, picked up steam in 2020 and 2021 amid the growing popularity of crypto investments here. Banks also jumped on the bandwagon by clinching partnerships with emerging digital custody business operators.But the abrupt stagnation of the digital asset industry ― sparked by rapid interest hikes here and abroad ― ended up widening the deficits of custody businesses.According to data from the Financial Supervisory Service, Korea Digital Asset Custody (KDAC) suffered a net loss of 1.27 billion won ($960,000) in 2022. This is a more than twofold rise from a year earlier. As a result, the value of

May 11, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Deficit widens for banks' crypto custody business on market slowdown

Scandal-tainted lawmaker faces criticism for crypto profits from legal blind spot

Rep. Kim Nam-kuk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea / YonhapBy Lee Min-hyungRep. Kim Nam-kuk of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is being criticized for suspicious crypto trading worth 6 billion won ($4.54 million).Kim is suspected of cashing out his crypto assets shortly before March 2022 when Korea introduced the crypto travel rule, mandating real-name crypto transactions. Kim denied the suspicions, claiming that most of his crypto assets were not cashed out, but instead transferred to another exchange. The exchange then reported the suspicious transaction to the Korea Financial Intelligence Unit, which reported the case to the prosecution. Investigators are stilling looking into the incident.The public criticism is directed at Kim's ambivalence, as he has claimed to be a poor politician who stands with the socially vulnerable.He said he had not reported his crypto assets, as they were not subject to the disclosure obligation under the current public service ethics act.The ruling People Power Party, however, stepped up criticism of Kim for his suspi

May 8, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Scandal-tainted lawmaker faces criticism for crypto profits from legal blind spot

Korea takes first step toward institutionalizing crypto assets

gettyimagesbankBy Lee Min-hyungKorea has taken its first step toward institutionalizing crypto assets, after a committee at the National Assembly approved an act focusing on the protection of crypto investors. The move came about a year after the shocking collapse of the Terra-Luna ecosystem in May 2022, which was developed by disgraced Korean entrepreneur Do Kwon who is now detained in Montenegro.Korean legal and financial authorities have spent the following year gathering efforts to introduce regulations around cryptocurrencies and digital assets, in a bid to prevent occurrences similar to the Luna debacle. But no concrete consensus had been reached over the institutionalization of cryptocurrencies.Under the Virtual Asset Act ― which was passed on April 25 ― terms referring to cryptocurrency, digital assets and tokens were covered by the umbrella term virtual assets. The act also defined virtual assets as digital tokens that have economic value and can be electronically traded and transferred.But the act excluded central bank digital currency (CBDC) from the definition, as a CBDC

Apr 30, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Korea takes first step toward institutionalizing crypto assets

Frustration grows as Do Kwon's extradition likely to be delayed

Do Kwon, co-founder of Terraform Labs / Yonhap Terraform co-founder to stand trial in MontenegroBy Lee Min-hyungTerraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon's extradition is likely to take much more time, as Montenegrin prosecutors indicted the now-detained crypto fugitive on charges of passport forgery, according to a local report from Pobjeda, a Montenegrin daily.The local prosecution also requested an extension to the detention of Kwon and his accomplice surnamed Han ― both of whom were arrested in the Balkan country last month. Kwon, the key figure behind the collapse of the Terra-Luna cryptocurrency ecosystem, has been on the run, since May 2022 when his once-popular cryptocurrencies crashed.But after he was detained by the authorities in Montenegro, it has remained unclear when he will be sent to either his home country or another, such as the United States or Singapore, where he was accused of crypto fraud. The collapse of the two cryptocurrencies incurred investor loss

Apr 21, 2023By Lee Min-hyung
Frustration grows as Do Kwon's extradition likely to be delayed

'Crypto winter' halves banks' profits from exchanges

An electronic board shows price movements of virtual assets at a customer center of Bithumb in southern Seoul, April 11. YonhapBy Lee Yeon-wooAs the virtual assets market entered a crypto winter last year, the profits of banks that offer real-name bank accounts for virtual asset transactions in Korea were also halved.The amount of the banks' commission showed a downtrend last year, which was in contrast to the continuous surge observed from 2019 to 2021, according to the Financial Supervisory Service's (FSS) data, submitted to Rep. Yun Chang-hyun from the People Power Party (PPP).The data indicates that five cryptocurrency exchanges ― Bithumb, Coinone, Gopax, Korbit and Upbit ― paid a total of 20.4 billion won ($ 15.6 million) in commission fees to banks with whom they were contracted to issue real-name accounts. This represents a significant decline of 49.4 percent compared to 2021 when commission fees reached 40.3 billion won.Since an amendment aimed at preventing money laundering took effect in 2018, cryptocurrency exchanges are required to conduct transactions using bank accounts

Apr 16, 2023By Lee Yeon-woo
'Crypto winter' halves banks' profits from exchanges

Dunamu likely to maintain market dominance

Dunamu CEO Lee Seok-woo / Korea Times fileBy Lee Yeon-wooDunamu, which operates the nation's leading cryptocurrency exchange, Upbit, is expected to maintain dominance in the market, as other cryptocurrency exchanges in Korea meet problem after problem.GDAC, a mid-sized local exchange, was hacked resulting in the loss of 20 billion won ($15 million), or 23 percent of its entire asset pool, on Monday. The exchange has blocked the server connected to its deposit and withdrawal system, and filed for investigation by the police's cybercrime division.Struggle of Binance, one of the world's largest exchanges, is also having an impact in the cryptocurrency industry. The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has canceled its local financial services license last week, and it is under scrutiny in the U.S. as well. On March 27, its Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) charged the exchange and its founder under the allegation of evading federal law. As Binance has been in the process of taking over Gopax, one of the five major exchanges here, to make a foray into the Kore

Apr 12, 2023By Lee Yeon-woo
Dunamu likely to maintain market dominance
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