US prosecutors say DOJ crypto shift won't affect case against Do Kwon: reports

U.S. prosecutors said they have no plans to modify the charges against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon after the Department of Justice sent out a staff memo saying it won't pursue prosecution against crypto firms.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a memo on Monday, instructing DOJ staff to refrain from pursuing prosecution targeting crypto firms such as exchanges and mixing services, except under special circumstances. "The Justice Department will no longer pursue litigation or enforcement actions that have the effect of superimposing regulatory frameworks on digital assets while President Trump's actual regulators do this work outside the punitive criminal justice framework," Blanche said in the memo.

At a pre-trial conference on Thursday for the Kwon case, prosecutors said Blanche's memo would not prompt them to change the charges against Kwon at this time, according to CoinDesk and Law360 reports. 

David Patton, Kwon's attorney, said that DOJ's recent crypto enforcement "could potentially be the subject of some pre-trial motions,” according to the media report. “It may or may not be directly related to the memo,” he added.

The court postponed the trial date to Feb. 17, 2026, from the previously scheduled date of Jan. 26, 2026. The next pre-trial conference for the case is scheduled for June 12, 2025.

Kwon currently faces multiple charges, including commodities fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, among others. If convicted on all counts, Kwon could face up to 130 years in prison. Earlier this year, Kwon pleaded not guilty to the charges in a New York court, shortly after being extradited to the U.S. from Montenegro.