Do Kwon Breaks Silence: ‘Terra-Luna…Was Essentially My Life’

The founder of Terra, Do Kwon, has kept largely out of the spotlight since his flagship project collapsed in May. But in a new interview with Zack Guzman for Coinage, the Terraform Labs CEO reflects on his current predicament.

Kwon justified his confidence, which he now admits “seems super irrational,” on the market success of his Terra ecosystem as it was “inching close to $100 billion.”

“I’ve never thought about what could happen to me if this fails,” Kwon said.

The Terra creator said there was likely an insider at Terraform Labs who took advantage of information on the protocol’s vulnerabilities to profit — although he does not name anyone — but added, “I, and I alone, am responsible for any weaknesses that could have been presented for a short seller to start to take profit.”

‘Down infinite’

While the paper billionaire cannot quantify his losses, Kwon described being “down infinite.”

“There are probably not too many people that are alive with this type of experience, but it’s like, over the past five years, I just lived and breathed Terra,” he said.

He said that Terra was not a Ponzi scheme, as the earliest investors were among the hardest hit by the crash. Kwon faces allegations of fraud in South Korea, among other potential legal jeopardy.

“So what we’re going to do is we’re just going to put out the the facts as we know them. We’re going to be totally honest and deal with whatever consequences as they may be,” he told Guzman.

Kwon, who moved to Singapore prior to the Terra crash, said he did so out of fear for the safety of his wife and child.

---

Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

• The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
• 0xResearch: Alpha in your inbox. Think like an analyst.