Arkham Bounty Unearths $160M In Alleged Terra Wallets
Failed Stablecoin Issuer Previously Claimed That All Reserves Were Exhausted To Defend UST Peg
In a notable first for Arkham Intel Exchange, two anonymous on-chain sleuths have cracked open a significant case, earning the platform’s inaugural bounty.
The investigators, including a figure known simply as “glorified accountant” on Twitter, provided evidence of undisclosed wallets holding over $160M in digital assets tied to Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon. This effort was rewarded with a bounty of ARKM tokens worth roughly $5,000 at the time.
These newly-discovered wallets, containing over 5,200 BTC, contradict the Luna Foundation Guard’s (LFG) previous claim of possessing just 313 BTC in reserve.
This revelation could carry substantial repercussions. Notably, the LFG’s crucial mission of maintaining the dollar-peg of TerraUSD (UST), relied on using its BTC reserve to purchase UST from the market as a final defense mechanism against UST depegging. UST and LUNA collapsed in May 2022, wiping out an estimated $40B of value.
More insights into these wallets are anticipated in the coming months, with the bounty issuer retaining exclusive rights to the information for a 90-day period as per Arkham’s policy.
Adding to the intrigue, Terraform Labs’ founder, Do Kwon, was detained in Montenegro for four months on charges of using forged documents. This followed accusations of multi-billion-dollar fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission against Kwon and Terraform Labs in February.
Privacy Concerns
Arkham Intel Exchange, while marking a promising start with its first bounty, has sparked controversy.
Critics raise concerns about potential misuse by bad actors to expose private information, suggesting the platform may inadvertently create a surveillance marketplace. Conversely, supporters applaud the platform as a tool for unmasking wrongdoing and providing whistleblowers a secure channel to disclose critical information.
Addressing these polarizing views, Arkham Intelligence CEO, Miguel Morel, called for a nuanced perspective on The Defiant weekly livestream, stating, “You need to think […] very carefully about what sort of information should be allowed on versus not.”
