Michael Saylor’s rise to prominence among bitcoin (BTC) investors is drawing considerable criticism. One particularly disparaging analogy claims that his BTC-buying tactics at MicroStrategy are similar to Do Kwon’s own from 2022.

To understand this apparent parallel, it’s worth revisiting Kwon’s story and the months before his criminal prosecution.

To be clear, no government agency has accused Saylor of any crime and there’s no indication that he — unlike Kwon — is misappropriating bitcoin. If a critic makes this comparison in good faith, the focus is squarely on Kwon’s goals of acquiring and financializing BTC via an acquisition strategy to rival Satoshi Nakamoto’s holdings.

Similar to MicroStrategy’s goal of endless BTC acquisition, Kwon’s Luna Foundation Guard aimed to acquire more than one million coins.

In 2022, however, the plan failed spectacularly.

Do Kwon wanted to buy one million bitcoin

When Kwon and his stablecoin giant Terra (UST) were at their zenith in April 2022, BTC was pumping. UST was worth over $40 billion plus another $17 billion in his governance token LUNA and since UST’s launch in 2019, BTC had rallied 400%.

In 2022, Kwon claimed that he would lead the Luna Foundation Guard to acquire 1 million BTC to support a stable peg for UST — a stash to rival Bitcoin’s creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

Unlike UST, which was a $1 stablecoin, LUNA fluctuated in price and was integral to Kwon’s empire. It not only provided collateral for UST redemptions but also offered voting privileges within Kwon’s ostensibly decentralized ecosystem.

When Kwon launched LUNA in 2019, the coin was worth less than $10 and BTC was worth less than $10,000. Nearing his final months of prominence, by December 2021, LUNA was worth $100 and BTC had rallied to $50,000.

Although the price of BTC goes up for many reasons, its correlation with Kwon’s ascension was extraordinary.

Read more: CHART: Do Kwon’s extradition has seen a total of 23 developments

In November 2021, traders grew increasingly bullish on Kwon’s empire and his ability to buy BTC supply off the market. That month, BTC hit what was then an all-time high of $69,000.

Near the end of Kwon’s empire, his Luna Foundation Guard proclaimed that it had raised $1 billion to buy BTC and intended to raise another $10 billion to buy more. 

Ultimately, that $10 billion raise never happened. Three months later, Terra and LUNA crashed 99.9% and never recovered, leaving Kwon to face criminal charges abroad and numerous US civil lawsuits related to his alleged fraud.

Michael Saylor also wants to buy one million bitcoin

That history — a charismatic leader of a BTC-acquiring entity leading to market exuberance — is inevitably drawing comparisons to MicroStrategy and its billionaire CEO.

Both men forecasted a supposedly transformative business model that would unlock a new suite of BTC-backed products and services.

In Kwon’s case, he claimed that assets like BTC would allow his Luna Foundation Guard to defend the $1 peg of his stablecoin and associated suite of decentralized finance offerings. 

Saylor, on the other hand, is advertising future offerings like bonds, options, decentralized identity, or traditional banking services like loans, all backed by his trove of BTC.

“The endgame is to be the leading Bitcoin bank, or merchant bank, or you could call it a Bitcoin finance company… MicroStrategy is the only bitcoin investment bank and will, in the future, be the most well-capitalized bitcoin investment bank ever.”

-Michael Saylor

Fans of Saylor think that he can buy $100 billion worth of BTC, issue BTC-backed securities, or disrupt the world’s $100 trillion bond market.

Indeed, one MicroStrategy follower posted an exaggerated projection that MicroStrategy could become the first $50 trillion company. Others seemed convinced that the firm’s shares could trade to 10X its BTC holdings.

As of publication time, MicroStrategy owns over $35 billion worth of BTC and is trading at a 2.2 multiple on those holdings. Its common stock has rallied 459% year-to-date.

Read more: MicroStrategy bulls think Michael Saylor can pump it to 10X its BTC

Other comparisons

While Saylor can be seen reveling in his ongoing success, Kwon’s historical posts linger hauntingly. His last posts are vain defenses of the Luna Guard Foundation and his work to restore UST’s value, along with talk of half-baked attempts to relaunch Terra as Terra2.

Although there are very few meaningful comparisons between Kwon and Saylor, both men capitalized on their bullish forecasts for BTC. To be sure, they issued extraordinary promises to cheering investors on social media who filled their bags with digital coins. 

Although MicroStrategy is nothing like the Luna Foundation Guard, critics think the two entities’ goals of acquiring a million BTC are equally silly. As of publication time, MicroStrategy owns 386,700, and Luna Foundation Guard owns zero.

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The post Is Michael Saylor the Do Kwon of this bitcoin cycle? appeared first on Protos.

Last week Montenegro’s Minister of Justice said he had decided where Do Kwon would be extradited for his role in the Terra/Luna collapse. However, before his verdict was revealed, a surprise appeal from Kwon threw yet another spanner in the works. 

Kwon filed the appeal on September 25 against a Supreme Court ruling that took place six days earlier and ruled that the Minister of Justice, Bojan Božović, would decide where to extradite Kwon. 

His appeal requested the suspension of his extradition proceedings, the Supreme Court’s verdict, and the decision-making of Božović. On October 18, in response to the request, Kwon’s extradition was paused by the Constitutional Court “until a final decision is made.”

Protos has updated the Do Kwon extradition timeline to reflect these developments which can be viewed here.

Read more: Do Kwon transferred crypto from prison after police failed to seize keys, report

Božović was apparently not made aware of Kwon’s appeal until October 18, 23 days after it was submitted.

In response to the Consitituital Court’s decision, the Ministry of Justice said, “We ask that the Constitutional Court act in this case as soon as possible and that in the future it informs us about it without delay, so that we can continue the activities started in the specific case.”

It said that because of the complexity and public interest in this case, “we believe that good and timely communication between branches of government and institutions is of key importance for making valid decisions based on the Constitution and the law.”

That same announcement claimed a written copy of the Constitutional Court’s decision had not been provided to the Ministry of Justice at the time.

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Montenegro’s Constitutional Court has delayed the extradition of Do Kwon yet again following an appeal from Kwon, suspending the Supreme Court’s ruling that left the Minister of Justice with the final say.

According to the Constitutional Court of Montenegro website, the court has approved a request to defer the execution of his extradition process, “until the final decision of the Constitutional Court.”

Montenegrin daily newspaper Dan reports that Kwon’s legal team made this request after filing an appeal on September 25 against the Supreme Court’s ruling. The Ministry of Justice was reportedly only made aware of this appeal on Friday.

It claims to have suspended the Supreme Court’s September 19 ruling and in turn suspended the final decision of his extradition permit, to either South Korea or the US, which was to be made by the Minister of Justice Bojan Božović.

Read more: Do Kwon extradition already decided by Montenegro Justice Minister

In full, the court decision reads, “The request for the suspension of execution is APPROVED and the execution of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Montenegro, is SUSPENDED, from September 19, 2024, and the decision-making procedure on the permission to extradite the applicant of the constitutional appeal to the DHK, until the final decision of the Constitutional Court.”

The Ministry of Justice reportedly said, “We ask that the Constitutional Court act in this case as soon as possible and that in the future it informs us about it without delay, so that we can continue the activities started in the specific case.”

On Thursday, Božović said he had decided where to extradite Kwon to and that the location would be revealed by the end of the week. Today’s announcement means it is the third time a decision on Kwon’s extradition has been paused. It also marks his sixth submitted appeal.

The Supreme Court had concluded in September that previous rulings from the High Court and Appellate Court were illegal.

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Do Kwon’s extradition verdict has “already been decided” by Montenegro’s Justice Minister and is expected to be announced by this Sunday.

Minister Bojan Božović told Montenegrin daily newspaper Dan that his decision “will be signed by the end of this working week,” letting the world know if Kwon is off to South Korea, or the United States to face criminal charges for the billion-dollar collapse of Terra/Luna. 

Last September the Supreme Court decided previous Kwon rulings were illegal and passed the extradition decision onto Božović. 

However, Božović appears to feel the weight of this decision and told Dan, “Maybe it would be easier for me if it wasn’t like this and if the court had decided to which country he should be extradited.”

Read more: Do Kwon transferred crypto from prison after police failed to seize keys, report

He added, “On the other hand, when the court leaves us to decide, I have to act accordingly.”

It has previously been reported that Kwon might have been used as leverage for an airport trade deal that would give South Korea control of Montenegro’s airports for 30 years.

Local publishers also reported that Kwon had access to his electronic devices, such as laptops and phones, for 72 days while in Montenegro’s Spuž prison. Two more sources alleged he was able to make at least three crypto transactions from prison.  

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Do Kwon has allegedly been able to make several crypto payments from a Montenegro prison after authorities took 72 days to seize his crypto wallet login details and various electronic devices.

The disgraced Terra founder was arrested on March 23, 2023, but his electronic devices weren’t handed over to the investigating judge until June of that year, according to a report published by Portal ETV.

An official from Montenegro’s Special Police Department told Portal ETV that laptops, mobile phones, crypto wallet login details, and “other codes for accessing the blockchain,” were all found during a search of prison detainees including Do.

Read more: Montenegro’s PM likely lied about Do Kwon meeting after Luna buy

Two sources claim that at least three crypto transactions were made using Do’s crypto wallet during his time in custody. They were allegedly made through an account tied to a Podgorica mobile telephony firm. It’s worth noting Portal ETV could not confirm these alleged transactions.

Sources from Montenegro’s National Security Agency (ANB) also claim that the devices were only confiscated from Do after the Minister of Police and Police Directorate requested the removal of “everything that should have been confiscated on the first day of arrest.”

Do Kwon’s arrest may have been a planned operation

Before Montenegro, Do flew to Serbia after an international arrest warrant was issued in September 2022. Portal ETV reports that he was eventually forced out of Serbia due to media pressure in late 2022 and early 2023 over the country hiding a crypto fraudster.

Do was allegedly driven from Belgrade to Montenegro with Serbia’s state security accompanying him as part of a plan to fly him to a country in the Middle East with lax extradition policies. Sources, however, claim his arrest was planned and that Montenegro’s border force was tipped off about Do’s forged passports.

Read more: Do Kwon was leverage in South Korea airport deal, ex-minister claims

The article also reports that Do’s mobile phone, one of the devices that was actually confiscated by police during his arrest, suddenly turned on when a secret tunnel leading to the High Court evidence room was discovered. Authorities reportedly failed to investigate if it was a coincidence or suspicious event.

Do’s extradition to either South Korea or the US is still yet to be decided by Montenegro’s justice minister.

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The post Do Kwon transferred crypto from prison after police failed to seize keys, report appeared first on Protos.

Do Kwon’s controversial extradition to South Korea could have been part of a trade deal that would give the country control of Montenegro’s airports for 30 years, according to the former Justice Minister.

Andrej Milović, who is now running for mayor, told publisher Vijesti that Prime Minister Milojko Spajić would use Do Kwon as a tool to trade state interests and resources “as compensation for covering up this case.”

Spajić supposedly prepared for months to give France concession over Montenegro’s airports. However, Milović says that he began to “speak positively” about a South Korean airport deal after the court of appeal ruled that Do should be extradited to South Korea.

“Therefore, I ask Spajić, did he extort extradition in order to cover up the case, in exchange for the Montenegrin Airport concession?” he said.  

He added, “By extraditing Do Kwon to South Korea, we would not learn the complete truth about the Do Kwon case, the role of Spajić, Abazović and other actors.”

The airport concession proposal has reportedly been in the works for years as South Korea’s Incheon Airport, Luxemburg-based Corporacion America Airports, and France’s Paris Airports wait to present their final offer. The new proposal would involve a 30-year concession plan.

Spajić has been accused of meeting Do Kwon on various occasions and SEC filings show he invested $75,000 to buy tokens from Do’s catastrophic Terraform/Luna crypto venture. 

This summer, Montenegro’s High Court and Court of Appeal ruled that Do was going to be extradited to South Korea. However, on September 19, the Supreme Court decided these rulings were illegal and left it up to Justice Minister Bojan Božović to decide on Do’s extradition. 

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The Supreme Court is reportedly expected to decide if the Do Kwon extradition judgment violated the law by the end of the month, according to its acting president. 

Indeed, Vesna Vučković told the Montenegrin publisher Vijesti that the Supreme Court will be deciding on a “request for the protection of legality” filed by the Supreme State Prosecutor. 

Vučković says the prosecutor believes there have been multiple law violations from the High Court and Appellate Court final judgments regarding the extradition of the disgraced crypto founder Do Kwon. 

She noted objective reasons have prevented the Supreme Court from scheduling a session to decide on the prosecutor’s legal request.

Read more: Montenegro’s PM likely lied about Do Kwon meeting after Luna buy

Protos has charted his court journey and found the latest extradition postponement from the Supreme Court marked the 20th development in his case and the Supreme Court’s second intervention.

Vučković noted that it’s not a good look if the Supreme Court decides defendants were illegally favored in final High Court and Appellate Court judgments within a few short months.  

She said, “That should worry us because it creates additional legal uncertainty for citizens, but also for judges of lower courts, who monitor judicial practice.” 

In April, the US found Do liable for fraud in relation to the $40 billion collapse of his Terra/Luna cryptocurrency firm. Both the US and South Korea want to extradite Do from Montenegro. 

Montenegro’s president also commented on Do’s case, noting that the current prime minister said he never knew Do on the day of his arrest. The PM personally bought 750,000 Terraform/Luna tokens before Do’s arrest, contradicting his statement to the president.  

Got a tip? Send us an email or ProtonMail. For more informed news, follow us on X, Instagram, Bluesky, and Google News, or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Quotes in bold are our emphasis.

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Montenegro’s prime minister lied to the country’s president when he reportedly told him that he didn’t know who Do Kwon was on the day of his arrest, despite striking up a deal for 750,000 Terra/Luna tokens and allegedly meeting Do Kwon several times.

That’s according to the president of Montenegro, Jakov Milatović, who reportedly asked prime minister Milojko Spajić if he knew who Do Kwon was during a Europe Now! (PES) political party meeting on the day of Do’s arrest.

Translated from Montenegrin, the president said on Aplus television, “I asked him if he knew Do Kwon. He told me he didn’t know him. He also said that in front of ten members of PES, who are now ministers” (our emphasis).

Read more: Do Kwon was recorded meeting Montenegrin PM, says former minister

Milatović also said during the interview that, “Montenegro should not become a safe destination for criminals, it sends a bad image,” and that authorities “owe us all the truth about Čamgoz and Do Kwon.”

In May, the former PM, Dritan Abazovićmp, alleged Spajić met Do to purchase millions of dollars worth of Terra/Luna tokens for a Bulgarian-based, Singaporean-headquartered hedge fund called Das Capital.

This is corroborated by SEC filings that reveal that Spajić invested $75,000 to buy 750,000 Terra/Luna tokens from Do Kwon’s Terraform labs.

Former justice minister Andrej Milović also claimed Serbia’s government intelligence agency recorded Spajić meeting Do at his villa. A letter from Do claims that he has known Spajić since 2018 while meeting several times in Belgrade, Serbia.  

Aid of Nigel Farage in Montenegro politics

Milatović told Aplus television that Spajić introduced him to George Cottrell during the party meeting. George Cottrell is a convicted fraudster who works as an aide for right-wing UK politician Nigel Farage, and allegedly owned an illegal crypto ATM. 

Read more: Bitfinex, Tether shareholder paid $40K for Farage to visit Trump after rally shooting

Spajić is said to have introduced Cottrell to the president “as a genius in the part of PR for election campaigns,” and Milatović agreed that Cottrell can help advise PES. ​​Milatović stressed that Cottrell did not participate during his presidential campaign.

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Do Kwon was allegedly recorded by Serbia’s government intelligence agency​​ at a meeting with Montenegrin prime minister Milojko Spajic, according to former justice minister Andrej Milović.

This is despite Spajic denying the pair had held any meetings after Do reportedly stated in a letter last year that he has known Spajic since 2018 and that the pair held meetings in Belgrade.

According to Montenegrin outlet Vijesti, Milović made the claim at the ‘Podgorica list’ presentation where he claimed, “If I wanted to remain silent, I would still be a minister.” Milović is currently running for mayor in Montenegro’s capital, Podgorica. 

The former minister said that Spajić was recorded by Serbia’s BIA agency meeting Do at his villa. 

The country’s former PM, Dritan Abazovićmp, also accused Spajić of meeting Kwon in Serbia to purchase millions of dollars worth of Terra/Luna tokens for a Bulgarian-based, Singaporean-headquartered hedge fund called Das Capital.

Read more: Fallout from Do Kwon arrest continues in Montenegro

Milović has previously claimed that Spajić attempted to prevent Do’s extradition to the US with the purpose of sending him to South Korea. Do is reportedly likely to receive a lighter sentence if he is extradited to South Korea. 

It’s worth noting that Milović is also under investigation by Montenegro’s current Justice Minister, Bojan Božović, for refusing to extradite an alleged Kurdish crime boss to Turkey.

He claimed that both Spajić and Božović want him to be extradited to Turkey to ensure funding for infrastructure projects in Montenegro.

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Montenegro, the small Balkan nation that Do Kwon fled to before he was arrested for holding false and flagged passports, is continuing to feel significant political reverberations from his apprehension, with current Justice Minister Bojan Božović investigating non-extradition decisions made by his predecessor Andrej Milović.

The investigation by Božović was launched after Milović suggested that Do shouldn’t be extradited to South Korea, as it would impede the concurrent investigation taking place in the United States.

Milović implied that he believes Prime Minister Milojko Spajić is purposely trying to send Do to South Korea so that he won’t be implicated in the collapse of Luna.

However, the investigation into Milović has nothing to do with Do. Rather, it concerns a refusal to extradite supposed Kurdish crime boss Binali Camgoz back to Turkey.

While Montenegrin courts have said Camgoz’s extradition should be allowed and the Montenegrin secret service has suggested his presence in the country is dangerous, Milović has instead claimed that sending the Kurd back to Turkey is desired by Spajić and Božović to ensure funding for infrastructure projects in Montenegro.

It’s worth noting that Milović is currently running for mayor of Podgorica — the capital of Montenegro — which is often a jumping board for further political ambitions. Milović and Prime Minister Spajić are also in competing political parties.

Read more: Do Kwon is single-handedly ripping Montenegro apart

Messy extraditions and political upheaval

Regardless, what this has proven yet again is that Do Kwon’s existence within Montenegrin borders has thrown disarray into the political-upper echelons and shown how flimsy and unreliable extraditions can be in general.

Meanwhile, nearly a year and a half ago, Do’s lawyer told Protos life in Montenegro would be “grim” for Do and that he expected it to take “at least a year” before any extradition occurred.

The same lawyer is now requesting half a million dollars in claims from the Luna estate due to his representation of Do. It’s unclear when he will be extradited or whether it will be to South Korea or the US.

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