Daniel Shin, co-founder of Terraform Labs, once one of the most valuable crypto exchanges before its flagship TerraUSD (UST) stablecoins imploded last year, was indicted by South Korean authorities on Tuesday.
Ten people, all directly linked to Land and their operations, were indicted on charges including illegal trading, breach of trust, and violation of capital markets law. Prosecutors have seized $184.7 billion in assets belonging to individuals. The indictment comes a month after Do Kwon, another Terra co-founder, was arrested in Montenegro
The allegation centers on the sudden collapse of TerraUSD and its sister coin Luna last year. The stablecoin, which was intended to maintain a peg of $1, fell to 35 cents on May 9, 2022, while Luna, its sister coin designed to stabilize the price of UST, dropped from $80 to cents a few days later. Terra subsequently collapsed in a $60 billion settlement.
kwon was wanted by South Korean authorities when he was apprehended in Montenegro and his whereabouts were unknown before his arrest. Shin's lawyer claims that his client had left Terra two years before his implosion and had voluntarily returned to South Korea to cooperate with the authorities.
The Terra collapse set in motion a sustained drop in cryptocurrency prices last year, ushering in a โcrypto winter." The price of bitcoin, the world's largest crypto currency by market cap, fell nearly 70% last year, bottoming out at $15,500 in late November after peaking at just under $69,000 the year before. Several exchanges failed during the crypto winter of last year, including the high-profile FTX collapse in early november.
Prices have since rebounded, with bitcoin briefly trading above $30,000 in early April, the highest level in nine months. Its price has risen more than 70% so far this year.
