The Daily: Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleads guilty, Circle plots its own stablecoin-focused L1 blockchain Arc, and more

The Block

Aug 13, 2025 01:12:54

Share to

The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter, The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.

Happy Tuesday! Bitcoin and Ethereum rose after July's U.S. inflation data showed cooling consumer prices, increasing the odds of a September rate cut to over 93%.

In today's newsletter, Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraud charges related to the $40 billion collapse of the Terra ecosystem, Circle unveils plans to launch its own stablecoin-focused Layer 1 blockchain called Arc, Ethereum ETFs top $1 billion in daily inflows, and more.

Meanwhile, Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin in year-to-date price gains amid the institutional demand surge.

Let's get started.

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleads guilty to fraud charges in years-long US case

Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud charges related to the collapse of the Terra ecosystem that wiped out over $40 billion for investors.

Kwon, 33, waived his right to go to trial and acknowledged he could face up to 25 years in prison, according to reporting from Inner City Press.
The charges stem from the failure of Terra USD, an algorithmic stablecoin, and its corresponding governance token Luna, which triggered a contagion event affecting several crypto entities in 2022.
Kwon was arrested in Montenegro in March 2023 for traveling with forged documents and charged with multiple offenses, including conspiracy to commit fraud, securities fraud, market manipulation, and money laundering.
Both the U.S. and South Korea issued warrants for his arrest, and after months of legal wranglings, he was finally extradited to the U.S. last December.
Kwon had previously pleaded not guilty to the U.S. charges in January.
In addition to criminal charges, Kwon faced civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission, with a jury finding him and Terraform liable for fraud.

Circle plots its own stablecoin-focused Layer 1 blockchain Arc

Circle has announced plans to launch Arc, its own stablecoin-focused EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain, with USDC as the native gas token.

Expected to launch on public testnet this fall, Arc aims to provide enterprise-grade infrastructure for stablecoin payments, FX, and capital markets.
It will include features like sub-second settlement and opt-in privacy, while fully integrating with Circle's platform and ensuring interoperability with other partner blockchains, the firm said.
The news came alongside the stablecoin issuer's Q2 results on Tuesday, showing a 53% year-over-year increase in total revenue to $658 million, with USDC in circulation up 90% to more than $61 billion as of June 30.

Ethereum ETFs top $1 billion in daily inflows for first time

U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs hit over $1 billion in net daily inflows on Monday for the first time since their launch in July 2024.

BlackRock's ETHA led the charge, adding $639.8 million, while Fidelity's FETH saw its largest inflows of $276.9 million.
Amid a rapid 140% rise in the price of ETH since May, the Ethereum ETFs have seen more than $8 billion in net inflows, pushing the cumulative figure to over $10 billion post-launch.
Analysts attribute growing institutional confidence in Ethereum's long-term potential to increased regulatory support and relentless corporate treasury acquisitions.

ETHZilla jumps over 90% as Peter Thiel takes stake and firm discloses 82,186 ETH holdings

180 Life Sciences, which is rebranding to ETHZilla, saw its share price surge over 90% on Tuesday after Peter Thiel-controlled entities announced they had acquired a 7.5% stake in the company.

The firm also disclosed holding 82,186 ETH, bought at an average price of $3,806.71, and valued at approximately $349 million.
ETHZilla closed a $425 million private placement earlier this month, with over 60 participants, including prominent crypto investors and founders, and holds $238 million in USD cash equivalents.
The company aims to build a differentiated Ethereum treasury vehicle, with plans to generate cash flow through onchain yield strategies.

Monero faces chain reorganization fears after Qubic says it controls 51% of hashrate

Monero mining pool Qubic claimed to control the majority of the network's hashrate on Tuesday, raising concerns about a potential 51% attack, which could enable it to reorder blocks, censor transactions, and reverse payments.

Qubic utilizes a "useful proof-of-work" model that incentivizes CPU mining of Monero's RandomX algorithm, converting mined XMR to USDT to buy and burn QUBIC tokens, creating a deflationary loop for its own token economy.
A multi-block-deep reorganization on Monero's network sparked fears of double-spends, while critics question the profitability of Qubic's approach and the accuracy of its hashrate claims due to discrepancies in pool reporting and public analytics.

In the next 24 hours

U.S. mortgage data are due at 7 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
U.S. FOMC members Thomas Barkin and Raphael Bostic will speak at 8 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., respectively.

Never miss a beat with The Block's daily digest of the most influential events happening across the digital asset ecosystem.

Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT 3.5/4 and reviewed and edited by our editorial team.

Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures.