Do Kwon co-founded Singapore’s Terraform Labs and developed digital currencies TerraUSD and Luna, which lost a combined value of around US$40 billion in 2022. Kwon, who was extradited from Montenegro earlier this week, pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan court Thursday to nine charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, commodities fraud, and money laundering conspiracy. The judge ordered Kwon detained as he did not seek bail, and he is due back in court on Jan. 8. (Reuters)

Talking point:  Kwon and Terraform reached a US$4.55 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June, which included a US$80 million civil fine and a ban on Kwon’s crypto transactions. TerraUSD, a stablecoin designed to be pegged to the U.S. dollar, fell beneath its value in May 2021. Prosecutors allege Kwon falsely claimed he used the computer algorithm “Terra Protocol” to restore its value, coordinating instead with a trading firm to buy the token and push up its value. When Luna and TerraUSD fell again in May 2022, the trading firm said propping up the tokens wouldn’t be as simple this time, according to the indictment.