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South Korean investor group says Do Kwon should be tried in US court

South Korean investor group says Do Kwon should be tried in US court
Snapshot
A court in Montenegro recently ruled that Do Kwon should be extradited to South Korea. Credit: Andrés Tapia
By
Mike Millard
  • South Korean investors want US trial for Do Kwon.
  • New Wyoming law will make DAOs legal entities.
  • Coinbase shares finally exceed direct listing price.

South Korean investors want Do Kwon tried in US

The latest court ruling says Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon will be extradited to South Korea.

Still, a group of about 2,700 South Korean investors hurt by the Terra-Luna collapse wants Kwon sent from Montenegro, where he has been held for about a year, to the US instead, Cryptopolitan reported. Both countries have sought his extradition.

The investors said that Kwon might face more lenient legal consequences in South Korea than in the US because the East Asian country has not yet established firm penalties for crypto crimes, and any sentence might be reduced on appeal, according to the report.

DL News reported late this week that a High Court in Montenegro had ruled Kwon would be extradited to his native South Korea to face fraud charges in connection with the $60 billion collapse of the Terra blockchain network in May 2022.

Goran Rodic, Kwon’s lawyer, told DL News that his client was weighing whether to appeal the ruling.

The investor group cited the case of FTX founder and convicted fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried, and suggested that there is a precedent for stiffer penalties in the US.

Bankman-Fried, who is slated to be sentenced later this month, faces a potential 100-year prison term, although his lawyers have requested a lighter sentence of 63 to 78 months, CNBC reported.

Wyoming recognises DAOs as legal entities

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed into law a bill acknowledging DAOs as legal entities under the Decentralised Unincorporated Nonprofit Association Act, or DUNA, Crypto.News reported.

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The law, which will take effect on July 1, allows decentralised autonomous organisations to generate revenue and distribute earnings to members while operating as nonprofit entities, the report said.

The law will provide DAOs with needed legal protections and may become an industry standard for US blockchain networks, according to a blog post by a16zcrypto.

Coinbase tops direct listing price, first time in 2 years

Coinbase Global rose above its direct listing price of $250 per share on Friday for the first time in more than two years as Bitcoin surged, Bloomberg reported.

The shares rose 5.8% on Friday to close at $256.62, highest since December 2021.

Goldman Sachs has raised its price target on Coinbase’s stock to $282 from its previous target of $170, DL News reported, adding that on Friday, leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin reached $69,200, up 330% from a 2022 low of $16,000.

Crypto market movers

  • Bitcoin is up 0.26% today at $68,467.00.
  • Ethereum is up 1.17% today at $3,937.88.

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