The name of Do Kwon sends shivers down the spine of the hundreds of thousands of investors who in May saw their savings vanish in just a few hours, 40,000 million euros in total – other estimates speak of 60,000 million.
The judicial responsibilities of the largest pufo ever detected in the young universe of cryptocurrencies, however, are yet to be assumed.
The founder of Luna and TerraUSD left his country of South Korea in April, shortly before everything blew up.
Supposedly, he headed to Singapore, from where he continues to post on social media.
Far from having punished investors from all over the planet for the hole he left, his main activity is proselytizing his attempt to revive a new version of his failed project.
The situation of the 31-year-old, who was once considered one of the most innovative minds in Asia — he appeared in 2019 on the
Forbes
list of 30 promising personalities under 30 — is delicate.
A South Korean court earlier this month issued an arrest warrant for him and five others, and has asked for Interpol's help in catching him.
His whereabouts are shrouded in mystery: on his Twitter account, where he has over a million followers, he has listed Singapore as his location, but there is no other proof that he is actually there. .
Yeah as i said im making zero effort to hide
I go on walks and malls, no way none of CT hasnt run into me the past couple weeks
— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) September 26, 2022
Meanwhile, Kwon carries an image of normality in his daily life.
“As I already said, I am making zero efforts to hide.
I go for walks and shopping malls”.
He refers in the sentence to what he already stated on September 17, when he also from Twitter assured that he had not escaped.
Asked this Monday by a user of said social network about where he is hiding, he answered without giving clues about his exact location, but without giving the impression of being locked in a basement under seven keys.
"I'm writing code in my living room," he replied.
The City-State Police, however, assured days ago that Kwon was not in this territory either, according to the Hong Kong newspaper
South China Morning Post
.
More information
The sudden fall of the Luna cryptocurrency evaporates the savings of thousands of investors and spreads the fear of contagion
Kwon has another good reason for not being more explicit about his residence.
When the algorithmic scheme on which the value of Terra/Luna was based collapsed, which promised a return of 20% just by keeping it in the portfolio, one of those affected came to knock on the door of his home in Korea and ask for him to his wife, which led her to request police protection from the authorities.
The trail of victims, some of whom have seen amounts evaporate that have taken decades to collect based on work, has made him the target of much hatred, even when the regulators' warnings indicated this type of investment as high risk. .
If he is eventually arrested and brought to trial, the trial against Do Kwon would serve to shed more light on the rise and fall of what was once one of the world's top 10 cryptocurrencies.
And an exemplary sentence could discourage those who intend to undertake similar paths.
For now, he says he is prepared to defend himself “in multiple jurisdictions”, given that class action lawsuits have been filed against him in the US and South Korea, and from time to time he types his name on the Interpol red list, where for now , his name and photograph do not appear in the public database of said police agency.
That doesn't mean it's not in their sights.
As reported by the BBC on Monday, Interpol has already issued a global arrest warrant, which presumably can only anticipate two things: either an upcoming image of Kwon in handcuffs, or an attempt to disappear and hinder the action of justice.
The collapse of the initiative to which he devoted himself body and soul in recent years has not only brought uneasiness to the individuals who invested in Luna.
Her own personal life is so tied to that project that he named his first and only daughter Luna, born in April.
"My dearest creation bears the name of my greatest invention," he then proudly said.
And above all, the collapse began a spiral that dragged down other companies in the sector such as the American platform Celsius Network, which paralyzed the withdrawal of funds from its clients and then declared bankruptcy, or the fund Three Arrows Capital (3AC) .
Precisely this Tuesday, the CEO of Celsius, Alex Mashinsky, announced his resignation.
In his farewell letter he conveys desolation.
“I am very sorry for the difficult financial circumstances that members of our community are facing.
I have worked tirelessly to help the company and its advisors come up with a workable plan to return funds to creditors in the most fair and efficient manner."
The figures here, again, are dizzying: Celsius clients await a solution that will allow them to recover almost 5,000 million euros.
Just a few days before the party abruptly ended for him, Do Kwon unintentionally dropped a prophetic sentence during an interview.
"95% [of cryptocurrencies] are going to disappear, but it's also entertaining to see companies die," he said with a laugh.
That game can now end the bones of him in prison.
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