Do Kwon’s US court hearing delayed as prosecutors review a swath of new evidence
A federal court in Manhattan has postponed the case against Do Kwon, the former CEO of Terraform Labs, following a request from prosecutors for additional time to sift through a substantial amount of evidence. Citing technical complexities, prosecutors indicated they expect to provide an additional four terabytes of discovery material to Kwon’s defense team, leading Judge Paul Engelmayer to reschedule the hearing originally set for March 6 to April 10.
In a letter dated February 27, prosecutors outlined the nature of the evidence to be reviewed, which includes information linked to warrants on various electronic accounts and materials obtained from several third parties. This extended timeline offers Kwon’s legal team a crucial opportunity to evaluate this significant influx of information.
Previously, prosecutors had already supplied Kwon’s defense with 600 gigabytes of data from four cellphones previously owned by Kwon. This included emails from both his personal and business accounts. The evidence provided thus far also encompasses documentation related to Kwon’s extradition to the United States, relevant statements made to regulatory authorities, and records of cryptocurrency trading that are pertinent to the ongoing investigation.
The backdrop to this legal drama is the catastrophic collapse of the Terra Luna ecosystem in May 2022, which saw more than $60 billion in market value wiped out as its stablecoin, TerraClassicUSD (USTC), failed to maintain its peg, dropping below $0.01. This failure initiated widespread panic selling that further destabilized the associated Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) token.
Following the collapse, Kwon, identified as a South Korean national, was apprehended in Montenegro while attempting to board a flight to Dubai using a forged Costa Rican passport. His initial arrest resulted in a four-month prison sentence related to the passport offense, but after negotiations with Montenegrin authorities, Kwon was extradited to the United States in December 2023. His initial appearance before a U.S. judge occurred on January 2, 2024, where he pleaded not guilty to nine felony counts of fraud.
Looking ahead, Kwon’s trial is currently set for January 26, 2026, with a timeline that includes requiring pretrial motions to be filed by July 1 and responses to these motions by August 11. As the legal proceedings unfold, questions linger not only about Kwon’s future and the fate of his legal strategy but also about the broader implications of the Terra collapse on the cryptocurrency landscape.
For further developments, key documents, and court orders, interested parties can reference the official filings through CourtListener.
