A verdict 1314 days late has sent one of the most notorious names in crypto history to prison.

On December 11th, at the New York Federal Court, Do Kwon appeared in a yellow prison uniform at the defendant's bench, and the 15-year prison sentence was handed down.

The defense argued for a 5-year sentence, but the judge outright rejected it — even calling that figure "ridiculous." The prosecution's recommendation of 12 years was also insufficient because of the case's destructive impact. The judge cited Kwon's famous quote, "Deploying more capital – steady lads," and pinned it as a pillar of investor fraud, ultimately characterizing the case as a "cross-generational scale fraud."

Why did Terra's stablecoin UST collapse? The prosecution's explanation is straightforward: it was a false narrative from the start. That perfectly functioning mechanism never actually existed. And this crash wasn't just a project issue; it triggered a domino effect, indirectly causing FTX's collapse, plunging the entire industry into a winter.

The scale of victims is staggering — Terra's creditors number about 16,500, but the actual victims may exceed a million. In just a few days, the judge received 315 letters. Some lost their homes; others saw their retirement funds and children's education savings evaporate; some haven't slept for four days waiting for a verdict. These letters are filled with accusations: people were swept into Kwon’s "mythical narrative," trusting was weaponized, and their savings disappeared in an instant.

In court, Kwon expressed remorse, admitting to hiding market intervention facts. He hopes to serve his sentence in South Korea but still faces additional charges and has already agreed to surrender $19 million in assets.

Once a confident founder who said "I don't debate with the poor," now walking to the elevator in handcuffs, he was surprisingly met with applause.

The Terra story may have come to an end, but the warning it leaves behind has not dissipated: blind faith combined with carefully crafted financial illusions ultimately leaves no winners.