Terraform Labs Co-founder Do Kwon Net Worth, Career, and Personal Life

Do Kwon Biography

Early Life and Educational Background of Do Kwon

Kwon Do-hyung, the famous South Korean crypto entrepreneur, was born on September 6, 1991. He grew up in Seoul where he completed his high school from Daewon Foreign Language High School. Later, he completed his graduation in 2015 in Computer Science from Stanford University. After graduation, he entered the tech domain as a software engineer at Apple and Microsoft for a short period of time.

In 2016, Kwon relocated to South Korea and launched his startup, Anyfi. However, he was known to be involved in controversies related to the government funding received for the startup. Subsequently, in his late twenties, he co-founded his brainchild, Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd., in 2018. Kwon is well known for the massive success of his first tech project, which landed his name on the list of Forbes’ 30 under 30 in 2019.

The Rise and Fall of Terraform Labs

Do Kwon co-founded Terraform Labs Pte. Ltd, along with financial specialist Daniel Shin, in January 2018. Terra as a payment platform grew for its involvement of fiat-pegged stablecoins, through a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. Terra’s blockchain protocol helps to manage and facilitate the use of these stablecoins in transactions.

In the same year the company was founded, they launched their first cryptocurrency, Luna. Later in 2020, they also released the stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), built under the Terra protocol. During that period, the company raised a sustainable amount of funds from investment firms, which resulted in the exponential growth of the company. Within the span of 4 years, from 2018 to April 2022, Luna reached an all-time high value of $116.

In the blink of an eye, the situation altered; by May 2022, the price of both the digital assets (LUNA and UST) dropped 99.7% and 91% by their values. The inherent loophole in the designs of these stablecoins affected their values as well as the entire crypto market. In just a few days, there was a sharp fluctuation in the crypto market value from $1.84 trillion to less than $1.30 trillion as the Terra collapse wiped billions of dollars.

The incident instigated an investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) into Terra Labs in June 2022. The verdict of the investigation appeared in February 2023, when Terraform Labs, along with its co-founder Kwon, faced charges of fraud.

What Happened to Do Kwon Net Worth After the Terra Crash?

As of 2024, Do Kwon’s net worth is estimated to be around $135 million. However, a major part of his wealth was wiped out after the Terra Luna crash. Before the crash, Do Kwon’s net worth was around $10 billion, which implies that he lost more than 90% of his wealth. His massive wealth comes from his cryptocurrency ventures and his other companies such as Basis Cash.

The massive breakthrough of Terra Luna blockchain brought immense wealth to Do Kwon, making him a widely known figure in the industry. The same way, when the network collapsed, it led to the fall of Kwon’s net worth to a large extent. However, Do Kwon is still a crypto millionaire even after the monumental crash of Terra Luna.

Personal Life of Do Kwon

Married to Yeo Min-Jeong for almost 20 years as of now, Do Kwon has two children. He named his daughter Luna after his greatest cryptocurrency invention, the Terra-LUNA. This shows that Do Kwon had his personal and professional life share the same room. 

Do Kwon’s personal life started going in the wrong track from 2022. In October 2022, Do Kwon was asked by Unchained Podcast about the invalidation of his South Korean Passport, to which he replied diplomatically. Do Kwon claimed that he doesn’t use the South Korean passport anymore. When further pushed about his possession of any other passport, Do Kwon dropped the question abruptly. 

In the same year in May, Do Kwon’s high-rise condominium building was infiltrated by an angry investor. The investor claimed to have lost more than 2 million dollars, for which he needed an apology from Do Kwon. 

Do Kwon is currently jailed by the High Court of Montenegro for falsifying documents. His arrest case is directly linked with Terraform Labs’ executive Han Chang-Joon’s arrest, who was trying to travel to Dubai with fake identity documents.