The unexpected fall of two prominent digital coins in early May stunned investors, wiping $400 billion (£318 billion) off the value of several other cryptocurrencies, including the highest value, Bitcoin. People who have lost their life savings are now screaming for support worldwide. After approaching the apartment of the mysterious entrepreneur at the center of the “cryptocrash,” one desperate man was jailed. His life was in shambles; he told BBC News.
Fortunes can be won and lost quickly in the fickle world of cryptocurrencies, but the May 2022 cryptocrash has severely hit one person in South Korea.
“I felt like I was going to die,” says Chancers, a bitcoin streamer. “In a short portion of time, I suffered huge losses. My cryptocurrency was valued at around $2.4 million (£1.9 million).”
Chancers has been dealing in cryptocurrencies since 2017 and claims to have amassed a fortune in the last five years as the value of Bitcoin and other digital coins have risen.
“In regards of my finances, I was in the top 1% in Korea. But, as a result of the crash, I’m now in serious trouble “He told the BBC.
At the worst possible time, Chancers put $800,000 into a digital currency called Terra Luna.
Terra Luna achieved fame in December 2021, when the price of each coin began to climb, from $5 to $116 in April of the current year.
Chancers, like many individuals, placed a massive bet on the coin’s continued growth.
However, on May 9, it rapidly crashed, losing 99 percent of its value in just 48 hours.
Each Terra Luna coin now has a price of less than $0.0002, or two-hundredths of a penny.
Experts claim Terra Luna’s collapse began when its sister coin, TerraUSD, quickly lost value.
TerraUSD is a “stablecoin,” a cryptocurrency unit engineered to prevent substantial price movements. Stablecoin organizations want to keep their tokens at parity with assets like the US dollar, with one token equaling $1.
When the value of TerraUSD dropped, a panicky sell-off occurred, and Terra Luna, which is algorithmically connected to TerraUSD, also declined.
The rest of the cryptocurrency world watched in terror as it collapsed, withdrawing billions of dollars from rival digital currencies.
Do Kwon, a very media-shy man who developed the Terra system on which both currencies are designed, is at the center of the controversy.
Thousands of people rushed to the 30-year-old on social media for answers and a method to get the thing under control.
Chancers, in his distress, opted to go one step beyond.
He searched online for Mr. Kwon’s home address in Seoul, angered by the crypto millionaire’s lack of communication.
“I was hoping to enquire about his plans for Luna. I had experienced a significant loss and desired to communicate with him directly “According to Chancers.
As a result, the streamer passed his hometown and knocked on Mr. Kwon’s door.
He also shared the potential violence with his audience, live-streaming the event to approximately 100 people on his AfreecaTV channel.
When Mr. Kwon’s wife opened the door and claimed her husband was out, he was upset.
Worse was to come, as he was arrested after the police were informed.
Local media recorded the moment he arrived at Seoul’s Seongdong Police Station for questioning.
“I brought myself in twice at the police station,” Chancers explains. “I didn’t trespass on Do Kwon’s home, but it is against Korean law to merely move there and try to talk to him. I had no idea.”
According to Chancers, he will face a fine and a criminal record, both of which might make life hard for him.
“It’s very tough,” he says. “I lost a lot of money, and now the cops are looking into it.” I used to work as a civil servant in Korea, but if convicted in this case, I may never be able to work for the government again.
“The problem itself is not significant in Korean culture; rather, the fact that it produced a scandal is.” I had to apologize as a sinner publicly. I had no concept of how huge this was going to get. It’s awful.”