Terraform co-founder Shin blames protocol for collapse during trial in S. Korea
The trial of payment platform developer Terraform Labs co-founder Shin Hyun-Seong, also known as Daniel Shin, and seven others got underway in Seoul Southern District Court in South Korea on Oct. 30, according to local news reports. Shin is accused of defrauding investors. Also at issue was whether or not Luna is a security.
Shin left Terraform in 2020 “for business reasons,” his lawyer told the court. Shin was the CEO of Chai, a payments technology company that partnered with Kwon to form Terraform in 2019. According to Chosun Biz, the lawyer added:
The Anchor Protocol was the algorithm used to maintain the value of the dollar-pegged Terra coin.
The defendants face multiple charges under at least four laws, including the Information Act. The prosecutor claimed, “They took advantage of the fact that investors had difficulty accessing information and had a low understanding of it.”
The prosecutor also said, “A business using virtual assets as a payment method cannot be established,” but the defense lawyer disputed that statement, saying there were no regulations on using virtual assets for payment when Terraform was founded.
The prosecution referred to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case against Ripple as the basis for several charges relating to violations of South Korea’s Capital Markets Act, comparing the sale of XRP to investors to the actions of Terraform in South Korea.
Related: SEC seeks to question Terraform Labs co-founder Daniel Shin in Korea
The defense responded that American law does not apply in South Korea and, “The government has announced several times since 2017 that virtual assets do not fall under the category of financial products (securities),” adding that the Capital
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