The Daily: Terraform Labs liquidator sues Jump Trading, US crypto czar David Sacks confirms Clarity Act markup for January, and more
The following article is adapted from The Block’s newsletter,The Daily, which comes out on weekday afternoons.
Happy Friday! Thanks for sticking with us through the rollercoaster ride that was crypto in 2025. The Daily is taking a short break over the holidays, but we'll be back in the new year refreshed and ready to help you navigate what 2026 has in store.
In today's newsletter, Terraform Labs' liquidator sues Jump Trading for $4 billion, David Sacks says the Clarity Act markup is confirmed for January, the U.S. Senate confirms new CFTC Chair pick Michael Selig, and more.
Meanwhile, JPMorgan reiterates why it doesn't see a trillion-dollar stablecoin market by 2028.
P.S. Don't forget to check out The Funding, a biweekly rundown of crypto VC trends. It's a great read — and just like The Daily, it's free to subscribe!
Terraform Labs liquidator sues Jump Trading for $4 billion in damages
Terraform Labs' court-appointed liquidator has sued Jump Trading and top executives, seeking $4 billion in damages tied to the 2022 TerraUSD collapse.
The lawsuit alleges Jump secretly struck a backdoor deal with Terraform to prop up the algorithmic stablecoin before its failure, allowing the firm to profit in the billions of dollars.
Terraform's collapse wiped out more than $40 billion in market value, triggering widespread contagion across the crypto lending sector.
Terraform Labs ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2024 and agreed to pay the Securities and Exchange Commission nearly $4.5 billion in penalties.
The SEC previously also said Jump's crypto unit secretly propped up TerraUSD in 2021 in exchange for early access to Luna tokens, misleading investors and generating $1.28 billion in profits before later agreeing to pay $123 million in fines.
Jump dismissed the liquidator's lawsuit as an attempt to deflect blame from Terraform and co-founder Do Kwon, while creditors have recovered only about $300 million so far, according to the WSJ.
Last week, Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in prison in the U.S. following his guilty plea to two criminal counts in August.
US crypto czar David Sacks says Clarity Act markup confirmed for January
White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks said Senate Banking Chair Tim Scott and Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman have confirmed a January markup for the Clarity Act.
"We are closer than ever to passing the landmark crypto market structure legislation that President Trump has called for," Sacks said on X.
The legislation, which would establish a formal regulatory framework for crypto and clarify jurisdiction between the SEC and the CFTC, already passed the House in July with strong bipartisan support and is now moving into the Senate committee review stage.
A January markup could merge the House-passed Clarity Act with elements of the Senate's own market structure proposal before a potential floor vote.
Senate confirms CFTC Chair pick Selig as agency takes larger role regulating crypto
The Senate was also in the news late Thursday, confirming Michael Selig to lead the CFTC and positioning the agency to take a central role in federal crypto regulation as the market structure legislation advances.
President Trump nominated Selig after withdrawing a16z crypto's Head of Policy Brian Quintenz's bid following stalled votes and conflict-of-interest concerns from parts of the crypto industry, including Gemini's Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
Selig brings prior experience from private practice and as Chief Counsel for the SEC's Crypto Task Force, as lawmakers consider expanding the CFTC's authority over digital assets.
During his confirmation hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee last month, Selig spoke about the need for clearer rules for crypto, while balancing consumer protection and allowing software developers to innovate.
Ark Invest scoops up more Coinbase shares following crypto exchange's 'System Update'
Ark Invest bought another 17,386 Coinbase shares on Thursday, worth about $4.2 million, across three of its funds, adding to its position following the crypto exchange's "System Update" Dec. 17 product rollout.
The Cathie Wood-led investment firm continues to actively rebalance its fund weightings, having purchased $16.3 million in Coinbase shares earlier this week amid ongoing market volatility.
Coinbase's expansion into stocks, prediction markets, Solana DEX trading, derivatives, custom stablecoins, and payments has reinforced analysts' bull case for its shares, prompting Benchmark, JPMorgan, and Deutsche Bank to reiterate or initiate buy ratings.
Ark also added $1.4 million worth of Solmate shares, backing the Solana-focused treasury firm despite steep declines in the stock since its September peak.
Ethereum devs name post-Glamsterdam upgrade 'Hegota' as 2026 roadmap takes shape
Ethereum core developers named the post-Glamsterdam upgrade "Hegota" during the latest ACDE call on Thursday, setting the next milestone in the network's 2026 roadmap under its new twice-yearly release cadence.
Hegota combines the execution layer's "Bogota" and the consensus layer's "Heze," though developers will not choose its headliner EIP until February.
The Hegota upgrade remains at an early stage and is expected to absorb deferred items from Glamsterdam, with long-term goals like Verkle Trees and state management changes also potentially incorporated.
Looking ahead to next week
UK GDP data are released on Monday. U.S. GDP numbers follow on Tuesday. U.S. jobless claims figures are due on Wednesday.
Markets are closed on Thursday for Christmas.
Euler, LayerZero, Kaito, AltLayer, and Wormhole are among the crypto projects set for token unlocks.
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Disclaimer: This article was produced with the assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and reviewed and edited by our editorial team. Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that delivers news, research, and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor of The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the crypto space. Crypto exchange Bitget is an anchor LP for Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to deliver objective, impactful, and timely information about the crypto industry. Here are our current financial disclosures. © 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Jump Trading Sued for $4B Over Terra Collapse Role
Terraform Labs’ court-appointed liquidator, Todd Snyder, has filed a $4 billion lawsuit against Jump Trading, its co-founder William DiSomma, and former president Kanav Kariya.
The suit, filed in an Illinois district court, alleges the high-frequency trading firm secretly manipulated the TerraUSD (UST) stablecoin for massive profits before its $40 billion collapse in May 2022.
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The core of the complaint alleges Jump entered a clandestine agreement to artificially support UST’s price, misleading investors about its stability.
The lawsuit claims that when UST first lost its peg in May 2021, Jump Trading covertly bought large amounts of the token to restore its price.
This action, the filing argues, was falsely portrayed by Terraform Labs as a natural recovery by its algorithm.
“This action is a necessary step to hold Jump Trading accountable for illegal conduct that directly caused the largest crypto collapse in history,” Snyder stated, according to reports.
The Office of the Terraform Labs Plan Administrator has filed a $4B lawsuit against Jump Trading over its direct role in the collapse of Terraform Labs, seeking to hold Jump to account for enriching itself through illicit market manipulation, self-dealing, and misuse of assets.…
— Terra 🌍 Powered by LUNA 🌕 (@terra_money) December 19, 2025
In exchange for the intervention, Terraform Labs allegedly modified a prior agreement, allowing Jump to purchase LUNA LUNA $0.11 24h volatility: 2.3% Market cap: $75.76 M Vol. 24h: $76.32 M tokens at a staggering 99% discount.
The suit claims Jump acquired LUNA for as low as $0.40 when the market price was over $90, later selling the tokens for a reported profit of $1.28 billion.
A Pattern of Deception
This legal action follows previous findings by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In December 2024, the SEC charged Jump’s subsidiary, Tai Mo Shan Ltd., with misleading investors about UST’s stability.
Jump settled that case for $123 million without admitting or denying the findings. The SEC’s investigation highlighted the same May 2021 de-peg event, concluding that Jump’s intervention was incentivized by the discounted LUNA deal.
A spokesperson for Jump called the new lawsuit a “desperate attempt” to shift blame from Terraform Labs and its founder, Do Kwon, and stated the firm would defend itself vigorously.
The original Terra (LUNA) token has since been rebranded to Terra Classic LUNC $0.000040 24h volatility: 4.9% Market cap: $219.67 M Vol. 24h: $59.12 M , while a new token, Terra (LUNA), trades at approximately $0.11, down nearly 2% over the past 24 hours.
Terraform Labs co-founder Do Kwon was recently sentenced to 15 years in a U.S. federal prison by Judge Paul A. Engelmayer for his role in the $40 billion Terra/Luna collapse.
Market Implications and Ongoing Legal Risks
While the lawsuit targets Jump, its implications extend to the entire market-making sector in crypto. The case scrutinizes the thin line between providing liquidity and active market manipulation.
For institutional traders, this lawsuit is a critical test of legal liability for firms that may have profited from undisclosed, preferential deals that masked fundamental protocol flaws.
The outcome could set a precedent for how much responsibility market makers bear when a project they support collapses, potentially forcing greater transparency in their agreements with token issuers.
Do Kwon may still face a separate trial in South Korea, where he could receive up to 30 years in prison if extradited and found guilty.
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Hamza is an experienced crypto editor/writer with a deep understanding of blockchain technology, cryptocurrency markets, and digital finance. He is passionate about making complex topics accessible and helping readers navigate the fast-evolving world of crypto.
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New $4 Billion Development in the Terra (LUNA) Collapse! Here Are the Details
Years after the Terra (LUNA) crash that shook Bitcoin (BTC) and altcoins, it continues to be a topic of discussion.
In the latest development, Terraform Labs has filed a $4 billion lawsuit against Jump Trading.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Terraform Labs’ bankruptcy administrator has filed a lawsuit against cryptocurrency market maker Jump Trading, seeking a total of $4 billion in damages.
According to the complaint, Terraform Labs Jump Trading allegedly secretly manipulated the Terra ecosystem and profited from its collapse.
The lawsuit alleges that Jump Trading and its executives, William DiSomma and Kanav Kariya, profited unfairly and contributed to Terraform’s collapse in 2022.
The lawsuit alleges that Jump Trading made large-scale purchases of UST between 2021 and 2022 during its period of decline from a fixed rate, with the aim of artificially boosting the price and profiting approximately $1 billion from these activities. According to the liquidator, these transactions were not only profit-driven but also contributed to the ecosystem becoming unsustainable and collapsing.
Jump Trading denied the allegations, arguing that the lawsuit was an attempt to deflect blame and deflect attention from Terraform’s failures and culpability. The company also added that they would strongly defend themselves in court.
*This is not investment advice.
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LUNA-Tied Terraform Labs Collapse: Jump Trading Hit with $4 Billion Lawsuit Over 2022 Fallout
According to The Wall Street Journal, a civil complaint alleges that Jump Trading helped facilitate the 2022 collapse of Terraform Labs, drawing attention to the firm in a high-profile crypto lawsuit. The plaintiff is seeking $4 billion in damages from Jump Trading and its executives, William Disomma and Kanav Kariya.
Filed in a U.S. court, the lawsuit contends that Jump Trading profited billions from the Terraform Labs episode, signaling potential implications for market liquidity and microstructure in digital asset markets. The accusations, if proven, could sharpen scrutiny of liquidity providers and governance around crypto platforms.
Industry observers will monitor how the case affects perceptions of market integrity and regulatory oversight. A ruling could influence risk management practices for high-frequency traders and shape future debates on accountability within crypto trading ecosystems.