Do Kwon Gets 15 Years, 10 Less Than SBF—Here’s Why
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in federal jail on Thursday for orchestrating a $40 billion cryptocurrency fraud—a sentence notably lighter than the 25 years handed to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF) final 12 months, regardless of Kwon’s fraud inflicting practically 4 occasions the monetary harm.
The sentencing disparity highlights how courtroom habits, regret, and cooperation with authorities can dramatically affect outcomes in high-profile white-collar circumstances.
The Verdicts
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer, presiding over Kwon’s case within the Southern District of New York, described the Terra-Luna collapse as “a fraud on an epic, generational scale.” He rejected each the prosecution’s suggestion of 12 years as “unreasonably lenient” and the protection’s request for 5 years as “completely unthinkable and wildly unreasonable.”
“Your offense triggered actual folks to lose $40 billion in actual cash, not some paper loss,” Engelmayer instructed Kwon, noting there could have been as many as a million victims worldwide.
By distinction, Judge Lewis Kaplan sentenced SBF to 25 years in March 2024 for an $11 billion fraud, citing the defendant’s “distinctive flexibility with the reality” and “obvious lack of any actual regret.”
Why the Difference?
Guilty Plea vs. Trial
Kwon pleaded guilty in August 2025 to conspiracy and wire fraud expenses, accepting duty for deceptive buyers about TerraUSD’s stability mechanisms. In a letter to the courtroom, he wrote: “I alone am chargeable for everybody’s ache. The neighborhood seemed to me to know the trail, and I, in my hubris, led them astray.”
SBF, alternatively, went to trial and maintained his innocence all through. He argued that FTX was merely experiencing a “liquidity disaster” somewhat than outright fraud. The jury took simply 4 hours to convict him on all seven counts.
Courtroom Conduct
Judge Kaplan discovered that SBF dedicated perjury a minimum of thrice throughout his testimony. Kaplan known as SBF’s efficiency on the stand essentially the most “evasive” he had witnessed in practically 30 years on the bench. “When he wasn’t outright mendacity, he was typically evasive, hairsplitting, dodging questions,” Kaplan stated.
The choose additionally discovered that SBF had tried to tamper with witnesses earlier than trial. He despatched messages to former FTX normal counsel Ryne Miller suggesting they “vet issues with one another.”
Kwon, in contrast, listened to sufferer affect statements—315 letters submitted to the courtroom—and apologized immediately. “Hearing from victims was harrowing and jogged my memory once more of the nice losses that I’ve triggered,” he instructed Judge Engelmayer.
Future Legal Exposure
A essential think about Kwon’s sentencing was his pending prosecution in South Korea. He faces expenses that would end in as much as 40 extra years in jail. Judge Engelmayer explicitly thought-about this when crafting the sentence. Kwon will seemingly be extradited to face trial in his house nation after serving his US time period.
SBF faces no comparable international authorized jeopardy, making his 25-year US sentence his major punishment. However, he’s actively combating to overturn his conviction. In November 2025, SBF’s legal team filed an appeal, arguing that he was “presumed responsible” earlier than his trial even started. His legal professional, Alexandra Shapiro, claims the courtroom blocked key proof proving FTX’s solvency and allowed biased therapy all through the proceedings. The Second Circuit is anticipated to take a number of months to difficulty a ruling.
| Do Kwon | Sam Bankman-Fried | |
| Sentence | 15 years | 25 years |
| Estimated Loss | $40 billion | $11 billion |
| Plea | Guilty plea | Trial conviction |
| Remorse | Apologized to victims | No regret proven |
| Perjury | None | 3 counts discovered |
| Witness Tampering | None | Yes |
| Additional Charges | Up to 40 years in South Korea | None |
The Bigger Picture
Both circumstances symbolize landmark moments in cryptocurrency enforcement. Prosecutors famous that Kwon’s losses exceeded these brought on by SBF, OneCoin co-founder Karl Sebastian Greenwood, and former Celsius CEO Alex Mashinsky mixed.
The sentencing outcomes ship a transparent message to the crypto business: cooperation and real regret can meaningfully cut back jail time.
Kwon has agreed to forfeit $19.3 million as a part of his plea deal. He was additionally ordered to pay an $80 million high-quality and to obtain a lifetime ban on cryptocurrency transactions as a part of his 2024 SEC settlement.
His request to serve his sentence in South Korea was denied.
The publish Do Kwon Gets 15 Years, 10 Less Than SBF—Here’s Why appeared first on BeInCrypto.
