A U.S. court sentenced Do Kwon, the founder of Terra, to 15 years in prison, marking the conclusion of one of the most significant fraud cases in cryptocurrency history.
This ruling was delivered on December 11, 2025. This decision came after Do Kwon admitted guilt earlier this year.
Has the winter of cryptocurrency ended?
With this ruling, a lengthy legal dispute that lasted for 3 years and 7 months has come to an end. This dispute began in May 2022 when Terra's algorithmic stablecoin ecosystem collapsed. At that time, billions of dollars in market capitalization vanished, triggering a chain reaction of failures across the cryptocurrency industry.
The prosecution claimed that Kwon Do-hyung intentionally misled investors about the stability of TerraUSD and the structure supporting its ecosystem.
The sentence received by Kwon Do-hyung is shorter than the 25 years given to Bankman-Fried, the founder of FTX. Both cases have changed the global perspective on the regulation of digital assets.
The prosecution emphasized the scale of the damage caused by the collapse of Terra. This resulted in massive losses for retail investors and widespread repercussions for lending platforms and hedge funds.
Kwon Do-hyung has been indicted in both the United States and South Korea. He was subsequently extradited to the U.S., and the case was consolidated within U.S. jurisdiction due to his guilty plea, allowing for today's sentencing.
The court stated that investor protection and the imposition of accountability were key factors in determining the sentence.
This ruling marks a turning point for the Terra community. Trading of the existing tokens LUNC and LUNA continues even after the network collapse. The market is still showing volatility following Kwon Do-hyung's guilty verdict.
As this case concludes, regulatory authorities are expected to use this ruling as a reference for future law enforcement related to algorithmic stablecoins and high-risk cryptocurrency financial techniques.
