Terraform Labs Loses US Appeal Over SEC Subpoena

The court found that the SEC followed its own rules on serving subpoenas.

AccessTimeIconJun 9, 2022 at 3:03 p.m. UTC
Updated May 11, 2023 at 4:19 p.m. UTC

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) serving of Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon at the Mainnet Conference last year in New York was legitimate, and the company must cooperate with the commission’s investigation, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled.

  • Kwon and Terraform Labs, the company behind the Terra blockchain, contested the subpoena's validity but lost the case in February and appealed.
  • On appeal, the court found that the SEC followed its own rules on serving subpoenas, and Terraform Labs’ counsel was not authorized to receive subpoenas.
  • The court also agreed that Kwon and Terraform Labs had enough ties to the U.S. because the company has employees based in the country and had previously indicated that 15% of users of its Mirror Protocol are located there.
  • This lawsuit is unrelated to the recent collapse of the Terra ecosystem. Nor is it related to the criminal investigation into Kwon and Terraform Labs by South Korean authorities.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.


Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.