'Jail Isn't That Bad': Luna Collapse Fugitive Do Kwon, Ex-Con 'Pharma Bro' Shkreli Talk FTX-Binance Deal

Martin Shkreli, who became known for raising the price of a lifesaving drug by 5,000%, discussed the potential merger of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX with rival Binance Tuesday with Do Kwon, a South Korean fugitive.

What Happened: “This is a depressing conversation,” Kwon said on the "UpOnlyTV" cryptocurrency podcast hosted on Twitch stream.

Kwon's remark came after Shkreli said: “Hey Do, I just wanted to let you know jail isn't that bad, it's not the worst thing ever so don't fret.”

Shkreli served time in prison for two counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. 

"Good to know," replied Kwon, who is being looked for by South Korean authorities, as he abruptly left the stream.

Shkreli was released from jail on May 18, 2022 and quickly entered the crypto industry.

Crypto Market Crash: Any significant cryptocurrencies, as well as stocks with exposure to cryptocurrencies, have started to plummet due to FTX's liquidity crisis.

On a daily basis, the drawdowns include:

Bitcoin BTC/USD -15%

Ethereum ETH/USD -20%

FTX Token FTT/USD -75%

Coinbase Global Inc COIN -14%

MicroStrategy Inc MSTR -24%

Robinhood Makets HOOD -19%

Marathon Digital Holdings Inc MARA -10%

Why It Matters: With an estimated $60-billion wipeout, Kwon's Luna crypto network crashed in what is thought to be the worst crypto meltdown ever, shattering the international digital currency industry.

The TerraUSD/UST stablecoin and the actual Luna coin are the two strands of the Luna cryptocurrency story.

Following the collapse of UST and Luna, there was a complete liquidity shortage in the cryptocurrency market, comparable to that experienced by FTX's native FTT token, which resulted in an even greater loss of value.

On May 7, UST worth over $2 billion was unstaked (removed from the Anchor Protocol), and a large portion of it was rapidly liquidated.

There is disagreement about whether this occurred in response to higher interest rates or if the Terra blockchain was the target of an intentional attack.

The breakdown of the Luna cryptocurrency network caused widespread consolidation in the cryptocurrency market, much like what is being seen Tuesday in the wake of FTX's liquidity crisis. 

Photo: Terra video screenshot and public domain.