Sorry Seems To Be the Hardest Word

A simple apology proved difficult for crypto tycoon Do Kwon after the $45 billion collapse of his Terraform Labs

“It’s a sad, sad situation, and it’s getting more and more absurd.” – Elton John

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The least you can say after losing the life savings of thousands of people is, I’m sorry.

Otherwise the victims of your ridiculous financial folly will believe the online chatter that you are a manipulative sociopath lacking any sense of remorse.

Do Kwon, the 32-year-old crypto tycoon facing criminal fraud charges in both the U.S. and South Korea, made this blunder in a 2022 interview with crypto journalist Laura Shin.

It’s both tragic and comic to watch him ramble about how his company, Terraform Labs, was a failure and not a fraud – especially after its collapse wiped out $45 billion in digital market value and the savings of thousands of people worldwide. 

At the top of his game, Kwon mocked his social media critics as “idiots” and haughtily told one of them:“I don’t debate the poor on Twitter.” Then, after his critics proved absolutely correct, sorry seemed to be the hardest word.

(Illustration credit: AI generated.)

Regulators strike a too-good-to-be-true settlement

On Wednesday, Terraform Labs, agreed to a nearly $4.5 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. It is the largest settlement the SEC will never collect because Terraform filed bankruptcy in January claiming it has less than half a billion in assets.

Kwon, himself, agreed to hand over $204 million as part of the deal – but we’ll see how that goes.

“The entry of this judgment would ensure the maximal return of funds to harmed investors and put Terraform out of business for good,” the SEC said in a letter filed in court, where its biggest-ever settlement awaits approval.

For now, Kwon’s been detained in the Balkan nation of Montenegro with both the U.S. and South Korea seeking his extradition.

He disappeared in September 2022, but was finally caught boarding a private jet with a fake Costa Rican passport, officials said. Kwon has said he wasn’t evading authorities, just his ruined investors who can sometimes be menacing – if you can imagine that.

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