The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has announced it will not alter the criminal case against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon despite a new memo from the DOJ advising restraint in prosecuting cryptocurrency firms. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche issued this guidance earlier this week, instructing staff to avoid criminal charges that effectively impose regulatory obligations on crypto businesses, such as exchanges and mixers, through enforcement actions. Blanche emphasized that regulatory oversight of digital assets should remain with designated financial agencies, not through the courts. However, at a pre-trial hearing in New York, federal prosecutors confirmed to the judge that Blanche’s directive will not impact charges against Kwon at this time according to reports by CoinDesk and Law360. Kwon faces charges including wire fraud, commodities fraud, securities fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, which could result in a potential sentence of 130 years if convicted on all counts. While Do Kwon’s defense attorney indicated that the DOJ’s new stance on crypto may influence pre-trial arguments, the court postponed the trial from January 26th, 2026, to February 17th, 2026. The next pre-trial conference is scheduled for June 12th, 2025. New evidence obtained in the case includes data from warrants on various electronic accounts and materials from third-party entities and individuals, following a previous submission of nearly 600 gigabytes of data by prosecutors to Kwon’s legal team, which included information from four of his cellphones, personal emails, business emails and details about his extradition from Montenegro. Kwon’s extradition followed months of legal debates over whether he should be tried in South Korea or the U.S., The SEC also brought civil charges against Kwon and Terraform Labs for allegedly violating federal securities laws by engaging in fraud connected to their digital currency offerings.