Cryptocurrencies and their counterparts are no strangers to scrutiny by international regulators and police agencies like the FBI and Interpol, and this week saw a few of these stories make it into the news cycle. So, what is Interpol up to and what are they doing after a North Korean national?
Moshe Hogeg reports that the co-founder of South Korean crypto company Terraform Lab, Do Kwon, has made his way to the top of Interpol’s to-do list, with a red notice being issued this earlier this week. Kwon gained the spotlight after the $40 billion fallout of Terra, and Interpol hasn’t let up in its search.
What Interpol Wants with Do Kwon
North Korean citizen Do Kwon has been under investigation for some time now after the bottom of his failed algorithmic stablecoins “Terra” and “LUNA” fell out. At the coin’s peak in May, it reached $119 and now rests at a measly $0.00035.
Kwon seemingly fell off the map after his final Tweet where he tried to dissuade the public from the “rumors” that he was on the run from local law enforcement. He almost poked fun at the idea of the situation stating, “I haven’t gone running in a while, need to cut some calories.”
It’s not usually a good idea to poke the bear, especially when the bear is the full force of the largest international law enforcement on the planet.
Singaporean officials have since announced that Kwon is nowhere to be found and is likely to be out of the country. South Korea has petitioned to have his passport canceled in the hopes of limiting his travel, and even without this order, it won’t be easy for him to travel with a red notice hanging over his head.
Algorithmic Stablecoin
Volatility is a synonymous term when it comes to illustrating the markets that surround trading cryptocurrencies. This is where algorithmic stablecoins come into play, they are supposed to be tied to fiat currencies like the GBP or USD in order to reduce this volatility for investors.
In this case, Terra’s blockchain tied UST, the stablecoin, to LUNA, which was Terra’s cryptocurrency that backed the stablecoin against the combustible nature of crypto markets. But when one fell out it meant that investors lost tens of billions of dollars.
Red Notice
If you are a criminal, then a red notice is the last thing that you want to be issued for yourself. In essence, it is when Interpol asks law enforcement organizations to band together to apprehend an individual at large. These notices last for five years, so if Kwon is guilty of any wrongdoing he has a long road ahead of him before he loses any heat.
Final Thoughts
At this time, it is unclear whether or not Kwon is a guilty man, but his disappearance from the internet and the real world isn’t a good look.
Only time will tell if he is directly responsible for losing over $40 billion in investor’s money, but what is clear is that money is gone and it isn’t coming back, and someone is going to have to answer for these losses.
