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Federal judge gives Genesis 5 days to comply with Terraform Labs subpoena

The order was unclear as to the nature of the documents under subpoena, but stated Genesis had failed to provide the information by Oct. 9.

A United States judge has approved an order requiring Genesis Global entities to produce certain documents in accordance with a subpoena requested by Terraform Labs.

In an Oct. 13 filing in U.S. District Court the Southern District of New York, Judge Jed Rakoff said Genesis would have 5 days — likely until Oct. 18 — to produce documents following a subpoena from Terraform. According to the filing, Genesis failed to provide records by Oct. 9 as was required by an Sept. 12 subpoena, though the order was unclear as to what documents the crypto firm was seeking.

Oct. 13 order from Judge Jed Rakoff. Source: Courtlistener

The order was part of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) civil case against Terraform and co-founder and CEO Do Kwon first filed in February. Kwon is currently serving a four-month prison sentence in Montenegro for using falsified travel documents while the lawsuit against Terra continues in the United States.

Related: Terraform Labs contends Citadel Securities had a hand in its stablecoin collapse

U.S. regulators have alleged Terra and Kwon “misled and deceived investors” with claims about its algorithmic stablecoin Terra USD (UST). The collapse of Terraform Labs was one of the precipitating events in the crypto market crash of 2022, prior to the bankruptcies of FTX, BlockFi, Celsius Network, Voyager Digital, and others.

Genesis filed for bankruptcy protection in January, estimating its liabilities to be roughly $1 billion with $10 billion in assets at the time. Both the firm and cryptocurrency exchange Gemini have been the targets of a civil suit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in January. The regulator alleged the companies offered unregistered securities through Gemini’s Earn program.

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Investors drop class-action lawsuit against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon

The dropping of the suit came amid Terra facing a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Do Kwon possibly nearing the end of his sentence in Montenegro.

A group of investors behind a class-action lawsuit against Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon over fraud allegations have dropped the case. 

In a Sept. 28 filing in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, lawyers representing plaintiff Nick Patterson, who filed the lawsuit on behalf of investors, filed a notice of voluntary dismissal only against Terraform and Kwon. The notice did not explicitly state the reasons for dropping the case without prejudice.

“The [Terraform Labs] Defendants have neither answered the complaint [...] nor filed motions for summary judgment,” said the filing. “Because the Court has not certified the proposed class for any purpose in this case and this dismissal is without prejudice, it will not bind members of the proposed class.”

Related: Do Kwon says SEC’s extradition request is impossible

Patterson’s legal team filed the lawsuit in June 2022 following the collapse of Terraform Labs, which many attributed to kicking off a major crypto market crash. Kwon and the company have since been the target of many authorities globally for their role in an alleged scheme aimed at defrauding investors.

In February, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil suit against Kwon and Terra for allegedly “orchestrating a multi-billion dollar crypto asset securities fraud”. Authorities in Montenegro arrested Kwon in March and subsequently sentenced him to 4 months in prison for using false travel documents. At the time of publication, it was unclear if he will be released in Montenegro or face extradition to the U.S. or South Korea.

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Crypto Trader Says Controversial Altcoin Could Surge by Double Digits, Updates Outlook on Biconomy and Terra

Crypto Trader Says Controversial Altcoin Could Surge by Double Digits, Updates Outlook on Biconomy and Terra

A popular cryptocurrency trader believes that a controversial altcoin project still has potential for growth. Pseudonymous crypto analyst Altcoin Sherpa tells his 196,400 followers on the social media platform X that Worldcoin (WLD) could surge by more than 11% from its current value. “WLD: I am all out of this one, took the majority of […]

The post Crypto Trader Says Controversial Altcoin Could Surge by Double Digits, Updates Outlook on Biconomy and Terra appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Democratic SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga Announces Plan To Step Down, Following Gary Gensler’s Footsteps

Terra Luna Classic contemplates deposit hike to curb spam proposals

This measure is intended to counteract the influx of "spam" and irrelevant proposals submitted for voting within the Terra Luna Classic community.

The Terra Luna Classic is presently voting on multiple proposals, with concerns raised about an uptick in "spam" proposals following a decline in LUNA prices. A new proposal seeks to raise the minimum deposit requirement from 1 million LUNA to 5 million LUNA, with expectations of a potential price increase ahead of the upgrade.

The proposal 11780, titled "Initiative to Address Spam Proposals by Raising Minimum Deposit to 5M LUNC," is under consideration. Its objective is to elevate the minimum deposit requirement from 1 million LUNC to 5 million LUNC, creating a higher barrier for scam proposals to advance beyond the deposit phase. This measure is intended to counteract the influx of "spam" and irrelevant proposals submitted for voting within the Terra Luna Classic community.

Validators concur that the existing 1 million LUNC threshold is insufficient in deterring these undesirable proposals. Hexxagon, the developer team responsible for the community-owned Station wallet, has observed an uptick in spam proposals.

As of now, the proposal has garnered support from 34% of "Yes" votes, 64% of "No" votes, and 2% of "No with veto" votes. Nine validators, including Hexxagon, Lunanauts, and Coinpayu, are in favor of the proposal.

In the meantime, the L1 Terra Classic Task Force is gearing up for the v2.2.1 core upgrade, scheduled for September 12 at 9.57 UTC, as indicated by the countdown. Additionally, the USTC Quant team has initiated contact with the centralized exchange to provide them with the Buy Back Report in an effort to reestablish the peg of USTC.

Related: Prime Trust parent company lost $8M investing in TerraUSD

LUNC and LUNA have experienced a significant surge in trading volumes recently, propelled by important community-approved proposals. LUNA, led by TFL, has seen a growth of over 5% in the past week, while LUNC is also displaying upward momentum in anticipation of the core upgrade by the L1TF developer team.

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Vauld gets permission for board restructuring from the court

Singapore-based crypto exchange has been ongoing bankruptcy proceedings since August 2022.

Vauld, a Singapore-based crypto exchange, that has been ongoing bankruptcy proceedings since August 2022, has said that it received permission from the court to restructure its board. The new top management will lead the company’s bailout process. 

On Aug. 24, Vauld’s co-founder Darshan Bathija revealed on X (former Twitter), that the company got its scheme of arrangement passed in Singapore court. According to the plan, the current board will be replaced with a new CEO, a creditor representative, and a scheme manager.

The platform also resumed the know-your-customer (KYC) checks for existing customers, who now have to resubmit their verification documents. In August 2022, Indian law enforcement seized $46.4 million from the Indian branch of Vauld, Flipvolt Technologies, due to the allegations of money laundering.

Related: 3AC co-founder avoids contempt charges following evidence of Singaporean citizenship

Vauld froze the withdrawal option for their customers in July 2022, citing unfavorable market conditions and a two-week “bank run” costing $200 million worth of withdrawals. The company cited the losses relating to the declining prices of major cryptocurrencies and its exposure to the stablecoin UST, which collapsed in May 2022.

In August 2022, it was granted a three-month moratorium to develop a restructuring plan. The plan suggested an acquisition by a Swiss-headquartered crypto lender Nexo, but in January 2023 Nexo’s office was raided by law enforcement and the negotiations stopped.

The same month Vauld was given another period of creditor protection by a Singapore court, and in February it was extended. The company owes its creditors around $400 million, the majority of which is individual depositors' money.

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SEC Granted Permission To Go After Do Kwon’s Close Associate in Korea

SEC Granted Permission To Go After Do Kwon’s Close Associate in Korea

A judge has granted the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) permission to work with international authorities to question one of the co-founders of Terraform Labs. Court records indicate that District Judge Jed S. Rakoff approved the SEC’s request to ask for help from authorities in South Korea in regard to acquiring testimony from Daniel […]

The post SEC Granted Permission To Go After Do Kwon’s Close Associate in Korea appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

Democratic SEC Commissioner Jaime Lizárraga Announces Plan To Step Down, Following Gary Gensler’s Footsteps

Terra money website frozen to prevent more phishing scams

The freeze comes shortly after Terra’s website was compromised over the weekend by hackers who attempted to scam users via phishing attacks.

Layer-1 blockchain Terra has temporarily shut down its website in order to protect users from ongoing phishing scams on the platform.

“The terra(dot) money domains have successfully been frozen to prevent further user phishing scams, but a full resolution is still underway,” Terra officially announced on X (formerly Twitter) on Aug. 22.

Terra advised all users to avoid engaging with any sites under the aforementioned domain until the foundation posts an official “all-clear” notice from this account.

“Our team has been working around the clock to rectify this issue, but we’ve encountered delays with some third-party responses,” Terra added.

The freeze comes shortly after Terra’s website was compromised over the weekend by hackers who attempted to scam users via phishing attacks.

This is a developing story, and further information will be added as it becomes available.

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

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SEC seeks to question Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin in Korea

The SEC seeks to question Daniel Shin on Do Kwon and Chai Corporation’s relationship with Terraform Labs.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has been granted a motion to seek assistance from South Korea to question Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin — as it builds its case against the firm and co-founder Do Kwon. 

On Aug. 16, District Judge Jed Rakoff granted the SEC’s July 10 motion asking if it could seek to question the Terra co-founder, along with requesting documents from the Seoul-based payments provider Chai Corporation he founded.

In its July filing the SEC said it wishes to question Shin on Kwon’s role at Chai, how Chai used the Terra blockchain and Chai’s disclosures about its relationship with Terraform.

It also wants to know why Chai separated from Terraform. Chai was founded by Shin and Kwon in mid-2019 and shared offices and staff with Terraform until the two firms split in 2020.

Excerpt of some of the questions the SEC seeks to ask Shin. Source: CourtListener

Terraform Labs and Kwon didn’t oppose the SEC’s motion and included their own questions and document requests — they have previously denied the SEC’s allegations.

The SEC sued Terraform and Kwon in February alleging its now-collapsed cryptocurrencies TerraClassicUSD (USTC) and Terra Luna Classic (LUNC) — formerly Terra (LUNA) and TerraUSD (UST) — were fraudulent.

It also alleged Kwon and Terraform falsely touted that Chai used the Terra blockchain to process and settle transactions.

The SEC claimed Terraform and Kwon faked transactions of its Korean won pegged stablecoin TerraKRW (KRT) to give the impression that Chai was using the blockchain.

Related: Judge signs order allowing Terraform Labs to subpoena FTX

Terra’s interconnected crypto ecosystem collapsed in May 2022 wiping out around $40 billion in value, bringing the rest of the crypto market with it.

In April, South Korean prosecutors hit Shin with multiple fraud charges alleging he hid the risks of investing in Terraform’s cryptocurrencies.

Kwon is currently in Montenegro serving a four-month prison stint for trying to leave the country using a fake Costa Rican passport.

Along with the SEC’s suit, Kwon also faces criminal charges in the U.S. and South Korea — both countries have requested his extradition.

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Pro-XRP Lawyer Says Federal Judge in Terra Case Who Rejected Favorable Ripple Ruling ‘Got It Wrong’

Pro-XRP Lawyer Says Federal Judge in Terra Case Who Rejected Favorable Ripple Ruling ‘Got It Wrong’

Pro-XRP lawyer John Deaton says that a federal judge erred when rejecting a historic decision during his ruling in the Terra (LUNA) case. Deaton tells his 286,400 Twitter followers that the judge should have sided with Judge Analisa Torres’ ruling that Ripple Lab’s automated, open market sales of XRP do not count as securities. A […]

The post Pro-XRP Lawyer Says Federal Judge in Terra Case Who Rejected Favorable Ripple Ruling ‘Got It Wrong’ appeared first on The Daily Hodl.

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Bankruptcy judge signs off on order allowing Terraform Labs to subpoena FTX entities

Terraform Labs claimed that the failures of its algorithmic stablecoin and governance token were the result of an attack from short sellers, potentially involving Alameda Research.

A judge in the bankruptcy case for defunct crypto exchange FTX has issued an order allowing Terraform Labs to subpoena information that could be used in its case brought by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

In a July 31 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Judge John Dorsey said Terraform Labs was permitted to serve FTX Trading and FTX US with subpoenas aimed at gathering evidence the firm could use in its defense from allegations of fraud by the SEC. The crypto firm claimed in a July 19 filing that the failures of its algorithmic stablecoin and governance token were the result of a coordinated attack from short sellers, potentially involving Alameda Research.

“The Debtors [FTX] may designate any production in response to the Subpoenas in accordance with the terms of the Protective Order entered in the SEC Action or any confidentiality agreement entered into between the Debtors and [Terraform Labs],” said the order.

July 31 order from Judge John Dorsey on Terraform Labs' request to subpoena FTX records. Source: Kroll

According to court filings, lawyers for FTX debtors agreed to the court order with “no formal objections”. Terraform Labs requested the ability to subpoena records related to digital wallets used by short sellers connected to FTX entities around May 2022, amid its failure.

Related: Terraform Labs appoints new CEO from existing team: Report

Terraform Labs was one of the first crypto firms to collapse in 2022, partly contributing to a major market crash and causing the price of many tokens to drop. FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022.

Do Kwon, one of the co-founders of Terra, is currently serving a four-month sentence in a Montenegrin prison after being convicted of using false travel documents. He may also face extradition to the United States or South Korea for fraud charges.

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