Terraform Labs suspends operations after $4.47 billion settlement with SEC

Chris Amani, CEO of Terraform Labs, has announced that the company will cease operations following a $4.47 billion settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Reducing activities

The company plans to sell key projects within the Terra ecosystem and give the community control over the Terra blockchain.

“[Terraform Labs] always had the intention to disband at some point and that moment is now. We will completely phase out activities […] We would have been well positioned to accelerate things if we had won the lawsuit, but unfortunately we lost and as a result we can no longer operate,” said Amani.

Settlement with the SEC

The decision to dissolve follows the $4.47 billion settlement with the SEC related to the historic collapse of algorithmic stablecoin UST in 2022.

The settlement includes a substantial disgorgement of $3.58 billion – giving up profits obtained illegally or unethically – and a civil penalty of $420 million.

Since taking over from Do Kwon in July 2023, Amani has confirmed the company’s intention to scale down operations and eliminate unacquired and acquired holdings.

“@evan_docs will soon post a community proposal to remove all unacquired Luna from [Terraform Labs] to destroy. Everything still located in our wallets will be burned through [Terraform Labs],” Amani stated.

He also highlighted plans for a community proposal to burn remaining acquired tokens and the need for community-led governance of the Terra and Terra Classic (LUNC) blockchains.

The decision to hand over the reins to the community drew mixed reactions, with some expressing optimism, others criticizing the previous leadership.

Although most supported the community’s shift to LUNC, one community member sharply criticized the decision in his response to Amani’s X post.

The dissolution of Terraform Labs has caused LUNA and LUNC prices to drop 5% and 2% respectively over the past 24 hours.

The $4.47 billion settlement with the SEC sets an important precedent for the actions being taken in the crypto sector and underlines the importance of regulatory compliance and governance.