A U.S. jury began deliberating in the civil trial against Do Kwon and the company he co-founded, accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission. (CoinDesk TV and Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Jury Begins Deliberations in Civil Fraud Case Against Do Kwon, Terraform Labs

Summary

SEC rested its case against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon, alleging they misled investors about Terra USD's stability and integration with a Korean mobile payments app. SEC argued that UST's peg to the dollar was maintained through trading, not algorithmic magic. They claimed a secret agreement with Jump inflated UST's value. Terraform Labs argued that market participants knew the risks and that the collapse was due to a short attack by hedge funds. Kwon, absent from court, is under house arrest in Montenegro, facing extradition requests from the U.S. and South Korea for fraud charges. Terraform Labs filed for bankruptcy.