Ex-Hodlnaut CEO Charged With Fraud Over Terra (UST) Collapse

Singapore has charged former Hodlnaut CEO Zhu Juntao with six counts of fraud, alleging he made misleading statements about the company’s exposure to the 2022 TerraUSD (UST) collapse. The charges, announced on May 26, 2026, follow a lengthy investigation by Singapore’s Commercial Affairs Department.

Zhu, 36, is accused of directing Hodlnaut employees to falsely claim in company communications that the platform had no direct exposure to UST or losses from its May 2022 crash. These statements, reportedly issued via Telegram and email between May and July 2022, stand in stark contrast to judicial findings that Hodlnaut suffered $190 million in UST-linked losses. Zhu also allegedly published similar claims on his personal Twitter account (now X) in June 2022.

If convicted, Zhu faces up to 20 years in prison, fines, or both for each fraud charge under Singapore’s Penal Code. The case adds to the fallout from one of crypto’s most notorious events—the implosion of Terra’s algorithmic stablecoin, which erased approximately $45 billion in market value within days. Terra co-founder Do Kwon was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December 2025 for his role in the collapse.

Hodlnaut’s Downfall: A Closer Look

Hodlnaut, once a popular Singapore-based crypto lending platform with over 30,000 users, became another casualty of the Terra crash. The platform suspended withdrawals in August 2022 after revealing significant exposure to the UST ecosystem. Hodlnaut later entered liquidation, with court-appointed managers now overseeing its assets.

The collapse of UST, which triggered a death spiral with its paired token LUNA, set off a broader contagion in the crypto lending sector. Celsius Network and Voyager Digital, both operating on similar business models to Hodlnaut, also filed for bankruptcy in 2022, leaving users with billions in frozen assets. The Terra fallout exposed the systemic risks of overleveraged lending tied to volatile crypto assets.

Terra’s Legacy in 2026

Four years after the crash, Terra’s ecosystem remains a shadow of its former self. As of May 26, 2026, Terra 2.0 (LUNA) trades at $0.062092, while TerraClassicUSD (USTC) has collapsed to $0.00607067, far below its intended $1 peg. The $429 million market cap of Terra 2.0 reflects a fraction of the billions wiped out in May 2022.

Despite occasional rallies, including a recent surge tied to Binance’s burning of 923 million LUNA Classic tokens, the ecosystem’s credibility has been irreparably damaged. Regulatory scrutiny has intensified globally, with Singapore taking a lead in prosecuting individuals tied to the collapse.

The case against Zhu Juntao underscores the growing legal risks for crypto executives accused of misleading investors. As investigations into 2022’s market failures continue, further charges against insiders across the industry remain possible.

Image source: Shutterstock