Do Kwon’s trial, which stems from the collapse of his Terra Crypto project, was promoted from January to February 2026 at the second pretrial meeting held at Manhattan Court on Thursday.
Judge Paul Engelmeyer revealed he overlooked the conflict, and neither side opposed to returning the trial for a month. This could give Procrypto Pivot more time in the US to unfold ahead of Kwon’s trial.
During the hearing, Judge Engelmeyer asked prosecutors if the memo from the Department of Justice’s new custody was related to the case. A memo written by Associate Attorney General Todd Blanche this week said, “The Justice Department will no longer pursue litigation and enforcement measures that have the effect of overlaying a regulatory framework on digital assets, while President Trump’s actual regulatory authorities will do this outside the framework of punitive criminal justice.”
However, prosecutor Jared Lenow said the memo would change anything about the lawsuit against Do Kwon. Prosecutors in another case on Thursday, including the verdict of Celsius founder Alex Masski, also noted that the memo was intended to be forward-looking.
“We know the notes,” Renou said on behalf of the government. “There are no plans to change the prices at this time.”
David Patton of Hecker Fink, Do Kwon’s new lead lawyer, sat beside Kwon during the trial meeting, noting that the memo could lead to several pretrial moves. More specifically, the defense reserves the right to raise new questions if the government changed its opinion on whether Terra’s UST or Luna Crypto Tokens was or not a security. Do Kwon is charged with a number of frauds arising from goods, securities, conspiracy and money laundering fees.
Lenow pointed out that some of the fees it charges for implementation by Luna Foundation Guard, which is sold using Bitcoin to defend the algorithm’s Stablecoin peg before the infamous failure occurred in 2022. After the fall of the award-winning documentary, Coinage was the first to interview Do Kwon.
The Securities and Exchange Commission won its lawsuits against both Terraform Labs and Do Kwon last year. The SEC pursued a record $4 billion penalty against the company, and Terra filed for bankruptcy protection.
After winning the extradition fight last year, the Justice Department sealed off a replacement charge detailing a series of terrible allegations against Kwon. If convicted in all respects, Kwon faces a 130-year prison term, highlighting the gravity of court battles set to form in New York. But before it unfolds, both sides will have more time to discuss things.
The story continues