SEC Objects to Terraform’s $166M Retainer of Law Firm Dentons: Reuters

CoinDeskPolicyPublished on 2024-02-28Last updated on 2024-02-29

Abstract

Additionally, the SEC has said that Terraform should not be allowed to hire law firm Dentons or pay litigation costs for employees, the report said.

  • The U.S. SEC has objected to Terraform’s $166 million retainer of Law Firm Dentons.
  • The SEC alleges that the money was “siphoned” off into an “opaque slush fund for its lawyers,” which could have gone to investors and creditors.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has raised objections to a $166 million retainer payment to lawyers of Terraform, according to Reuters.

Additionally, the SEC has said that Terraform should not be allowed to hire law firm Dentons or pay litigation costs for employees, the report said.

The SEC has alleged that Terraform intended to avoid paying a future judgment in the SEC’s lawsuit, which is why it sent $166 million to Dentons.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, currently face a trial in the U.S. from the SEC regarding the collapse of TerraUSD. Terraform Labs filed a voluntary petition in Delaware for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2024 after the failed stablecoin TerraUSD and the LUNA token collapsed in May 2022, destroying billions of dollars in investor wealth.

The money was “siphoned” off into an “opaque slush fund for its lawyers,” which could have gone to investors and creditors seeking to be repaid in Terraform’s bankruptcy, the SEC said, according to the report.

Terraform Labs or Dentons did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

Edited by Parikshit Mishra.


Related Reads

BIT Research: Liquidity is Disappearing, Will Bitcoin Replay the Bottoming Pattern of 2022?

The crypto market is currently in an adjustment phase driven by policy expectations and liquidity shifts. Despite a brief rebound fueled by geopolitical easing and SpaceX's strong IPO performance, unexpectedly hawkish signals from new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh have removed anticipated easing support. Concurrently, stablecoin liquidity is shrinking, with insufficient new capital inflows, pushing the market into a typically quiet summer period. Pricing lacks catalysts for a sustained rally. Daily trading volume has significantly contracted, stablecoin growth has slowed markedly, and the supportive effect of Strategy's (formerly MicroStrategy) STRC preferred stock-financed Bitcoin purchases is fading. Amid policy uncertainty, seasonal weakness, and liquidity contraction, Bitcoin faces near-term downward pressure. Warsh's hawkish pivot and refusal to provide a clear policy outlook have increased risk premiums, historically unfavorable for Bitcoin. Technically, the trend remains bearish below $73,700, with $62,446 as critical support. A break below could accelerate declines, though a prolonged consolidation phase, similar to 2022's bottoming process, is possible. Liquidity is a core constraint. Current daily volume is around $500 billion, roughly 25% of the peak during the July-Oct 2025 rally. The 12-month growth rates for USDT and USDC have fallen to ~20%, with 6-month growth near zero, indicating weak new inflows. Bitcoin ETF and Strategy-driven inflows have also weakened, with a 30-day rolling net outflow. With inflation at 4.2% above the Fed's target, combined hawkish policy, seasonal factors, and liquidity shortages challenge Bitcoin's ability to hold above $60,000. However, this adjustment phase may be forming a cyclical low this summer, potentially setting the stage for the next bull cycle.

marsbit6m ago

BIT Research: Liquidity is Disappearing, Will Bitcoin Replay the Bottoming Pattern of 2022?

marsbit6m ago

Who Makes the Best Use of Claude Code? The Answer Might Not Be Programmers

Claude Code Usage Report Summary (Based on ~400k sessions) Core Finding: In agentic programming with Claude Code, a clear division of labor has emerged: humans primarily decide *what* to build (planning decisions), while Claude decides *how* to build it (execution decisions). Key Insights: 1. **Effectiveness is not limited to programmers.** In code-generation tasks, success rates for users in non-technical fields (law, finance, management, research) are nearing those of software engineers. What matters most is the user's domain expertise and understanding of the problem to be solved. 2. **Domain expertise drives success and efficiency.** Sessions where users exhibited "expert" proficiency in the task's domain saw verified success rates double compared to "novice" sessions. Experts also delegated more work per instruction, with Claude executing more actions and producing more output. 3. **AI is amplifying, not replacing, domain knowledge.** Claude Code lowers the *implementation* barrier, not the *judgment* barrier. The value of knowing the "what" and "why" is increasing relative to just knowing the "how" to code. 4. **Usage is evolving.** Over a 7-month period (Oct '25 - Apr '26), the share of sessions for debugging halved, while use for software operations, data analysis, and non-code writing roughly doubled. The estimated economic value of typical tasks increased by ~25%. Conclusion: The data suggests coding agents are making programming background less critical for completing technical tasks. However, they reward and amplify deep domain understanding. The ability to successfully direct an AI agent stems more from mastery of a specific field than from coding skill itself. The primary gains come from being competent in a domain; deep specialization adds only marginal additional advantage. This may signal a shift where software creation becomes integrated into various professions.

marsbit41m ago

Who Makes the Best Use of Claude Code? The Answer Might Not Be Programmers

marsbit41m ago

Trading

Spot
Futures
活动图片