Who Is Chris Amani, the New Terraform Labs CEO?

The disgraced firm founded by Do Kwon, Terraform Labs, has found itself a new interim CEO. Chris Amani, who was the COO and CFO from January 2022, will now be responsible for steering Terraform into safer, and, hopefully, more prosperous waters.

Terraform Labs was the first and arguably the most consequential implosion of 2022. Its flagship project, the Terra (UST) stablecoin, and its sister token Luna (LUNA), spectacularly collapsed in the spring of that year.

New Terraform Labs Leadership Has Work Cut Out

When the company fell apart, the domino effect wiped out billions of dollars of value from the crypto markets in a matter of days.

In March 2023, Kwon attempted to travel to Dubai using falsified documents and was arrested in Montenegro. Subsequently, Kwon faced several charges, including securities fraud, commodities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy.

It later emerged that Kwon had sent a significant sum of money to a law firm before the collapse of TerraUSD. South Korea and the United States both seek his extradition.

Chris Amani: “We Have A Vision”

Prior to his involvement with Terra in December 2021, Amani served as the CEO of Humanity, a computer software firm specializing in employee scheduling software.

The choice of Amani to head the firm is something of a surprise. In the case of other stunning downfalls, companies rarely reach for replacements so close to the top.

Considering that Amani arrived so soon before the disaster began, the choice is even more of a head-scratcher. The first thing in his inbox: to clean up Do Kwon’s mess. On that score, Amani says he has a plan.

“We have a vision for how we could salvage this, even though I think it’s going to be hard and it’s going to take a long time,” he told the Wall Street Journal. However, details so far have been thin.

What do we definitely know? First of all, Terraform Labs 2.0 does not see stablecoins are part of the company’s value offer. A welcome sign for those burned by the Terra/Luna fiasco. 

We Wish Do Kwon the Best, Says New CEO

Other than that, Amani is keeping tight-lipped. Like every other blockchain, Terraform Labs wants its continuing Terra product to provide “real utility.”

According to the WSJ interview with Amani, some 15 of the current employees of Terraform are from the days of the collapse. For his part, Amani has voiced a pragmatic attitude about how to move forward with the firm’s founder in jail.

On the topic of Do Kwon’s legal troubles, Amani said: “We wish Do the best, and we hope that he’s able to clear himself of all charges. But while he’s incarcerated and while he’s facing his own legal challenges, it just makes sense for us to continue on without him.”