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{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"93632541-1cde-40b3-ac63-2d5776ed8761","kind":"publish","page_slug":"anchor-protocol","published_at":"2026-05-30T12:57:28.901Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Anchor Protocol","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Terraform Labs launches Anchor — CryptoNinjas (March 2021)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2021/03/17/terraform-labs-launches-anchor-a-low-volatility-high-yield-savings-protocol-on-the-terra-blockchain/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Anchor Protocol — DeFi's First Inter-Chain Fixed-Income Savings Protocol Launches on Terra (PRWeb)","type":"official","url":"https://www.prweb.com/releases/anchor_defis_first_inter_chain_fixed_income_savings_protocol_launches_on_terra/prweb17801690.htm"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"Breaking Down Anchor's 20% APY on UST — Coinmonks / Medium","type":"research","url":"https://medium.com/coinmonks/breaking-down-anchors-20-apy-on-ust-7479253013bb"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anchor Protocol Reserves Slide as Money Market's Founder Talks Down Concerns — CoinDesk (January 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/01/28/anchor-protocol-reserves-slide-as-money-markets-founder-talks-down-concerns"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Anchor Protocol's Unsustainable 20% Yield — WantFI","type":"research","url":"https://wantfi.com/terra-luna-anchor-protocol-savings-account.html"},{"credibility":3,"name":"Anchor Protocol — Not Your Ordinary Money Market — Medium","type":"research","url":"https://medium.com/@frikadelki/anchor-protocol-not-your-ordinary-money-market-8c7bd74e91bd"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra injects 450M UST into Anchor reserve days before protocol depletion — CoinTelegraph (February 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-injects-450m-ust-into-anchor-reserve-days-before-protocol-depletion"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anchor Protocol Reserves Slide as Money Market's Founder Talks Down Concerns — CoinDesk (January 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/01/28/anchor-protocol-reserves-slide-as-money-markets-founder-talks-down-concerns"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anchor Protocol Will Readjust Interest Rates Each Month — CoinDesk (March 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/03/25/anchor-protocol-will-readjust-interest-rates-each-month-anc-falls-by-5"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Anchor protocol's reserves head toward depletion — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/anchor-protocol-s-reserves-head-toward-depletion-due-to-lack-of-borrowing-demand"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Anatomy of a Run: The Terra Luna Crash — NBER Working Paper No. 31160 (Liu, Makarov, Schoar 2023)","type":"research","url":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w31160"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC Charges Terraform and CEO Do Kwon with Defrauding Investors — SEC.gov (February 2023)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023-32"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC charges Do Kwon, Terraform with fraud — CNBC (February 2023)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/sec-charges-do-kwon-with-fraud-in-connection-with-terra-collapse.html"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anatomy of a Run: The Terra Luna Crash — Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog (May 2023)","type":"research","url":"https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/05/22/anatomy-of-a-run-the-terra-luna-crash/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"Anatomy of a Run: The Terra Luna Crash — NBER Working Paper No. 31160","type":"research","url":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w31160"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra Luna Crash: Complete Breakdown — ECOS.am","type":"news_article","url":"https://ecos.am/en/blog/terra-luna-crash-complete-breakdown-of-the-luna-and-ust-algorithmic-stablecoin-implosion"},{"credibility":2,"name":"A Week of Terra: The UST & LUNA Collapse Explained — Caleb & Brown","type":"news_article","url":"https://calebandbrown.com/blog/a-week-of-terra-ust-and-luna-collapse-explained/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"What Caused the Depeg of TerraUSD? — BlockApps","type":"research","url":"https://blockapps.net/blog/what-caused-the-depeg-of-terrausd-an-in-depth-analysis-of-its-collapse/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"critical","sources":[{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC Charges Terraform and CEO Do Kwon with Defrauding Investors — SEC.gov (February 2023)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023-32"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC Terraform and Kwon to Pay $4.5 Billion Following Fraud Verdict — SEC.gov (June 2024)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-73"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years — The Block (December 2025)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/382204/terraform-labs-founder-do-kwon-sentenced-to-15-years-over-40-billion-terra-luna-collapse-inner-city-press"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Crypto-Enabled Fraudster Sentenced for Orchestrating $40 Billion Fraud — DOJ SDNY","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/crypto-enabled-fraudster-sentenced-orchestrating-40-billion-fraud"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison over $40 billion collapse — NBC News","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/crypto-founder-kwon-sentenced-15-years-prison-40-billion-collapse-rcna248790"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"high","sources":[{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra's Anchor Protocol Users Vote to Halt 'Earning and Borrowing' — CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/terras-anchor-protocol-users-vote-to-halt-earning-and-borrowing/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Is Anchor Protocol (ANC) Really Dead? — CoinChapter","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinchapter.com/is-anchor-protocol-anc-really-dead/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra (blockchain) — Wikipedia","type":"other","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_(blockchain)"}]}],"sources_used":[{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC Charges Terraform and CEO Do Kwon with Defrauding Investors — SEC.gov (February 2023)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023-32"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC — Terraform and Kwon to Pay $4.5 Billion Following Fraud Verdict (June 2024)","type":"regulatory","url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-73"},{"credibility":1,"name":"DOJ SDNY — Crypto-Enabled Fraudster Sentenced for Orchestrating $40 Billion Fraud","type":"court_filing","url":"https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/crypto-enabled-fraudster-sentenced-orchestrating-40-billion-fraud"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anatomy of a Run: The Terra Luna Crash — NBER Working Paper No. 31160 (Liu, Makarov, Schoar 2023)","type":"research","url":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w31160"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anatomy of a Run: The Terra Luna Crash — Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Blog","type":"research","url":"https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/05/22/anatomy-of-a-run-the-terra-luna-crash/"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anchor Protocol Reserves Slide — CoinDesk (January 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/01/28/anchor-protocol-reserves-slide-as-money-markets-founder-talks-down-concerns"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Anchor Protocol Will Readjust Interest Rates Each Month — CoinDesk (March 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/03/25/anchor-protocol-will-readjust-interest-rates-each-month-anc-falls-by-5"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra injects 450M UST into Anchor reserve — CoinTelegraph (February 2022)","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-injects-450m-ust-into-anchor-reserve-days-before-protocol-depletion"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Anchor protocol's reserves head toward depletion — CoinTelegraph","type":"news_article","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/anchor-protocol-s-reserves-head-toward-depletion-due-to-lack-of-borrowing-demand"},{"credibility":1,"name":"Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in prison — NBC News (December 2025)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/crypto-founder-kwon-sentenced-15-years-prison-40-billion-collapse-rcna248790"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years — The Block (December 2025)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/382204/terraform-labs-founder-do-kwon-sentenced-to-15-years-over-40-billion-terra-luna-collapse-inner-city-press"},{"credibility":1,"name":"SEC charges Do Kwon, Terraform with fraud — CNBC (February 2023)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/16/sec-charges-do-kwon-with-fraud-in-connection-with-terra-collapse.html"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra Luna Crash: Complete Breakdown — ECOS.am","type":"news_article","url":"https://ecos.am/en/blog/terra-luna-crash-complete-breakdown-of-the-luna-and-ust-algorithmic-stablecoin-implosion"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terra's Anchor Protocol Users Vote to Halt Earning and Borrowing — CryptoSlate","type":"news_article","url":"https://cryptoslate.com/terras-anchor-protocol-users-vote-to-halt-earning-and-borrowing/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Terraform Labs launches Anchor — CryptoNinjas (March 2021)","type":"news_article","url":"https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2021/03/17/terraform-labs-launches-anchor-a-low-volatility-high-yield-savings-protocol-on-the-terra-blockchain/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"A Week of Terra: The UST & LUNA Collapse Explained — Caleb & Brown","type":"news_article","url":"https://calebandbrown.com/blog/a-week-of-terra-ust-and-luna-collapse-explained/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"What Caused the Depeg of TerraUSD — BlockApps","type":"research","url":"https://blockapps.net/blog/what-caused-the-depeg-of-terrausd-an-in-depth-analysis-of-its-collapse/"},{"credibility":2,"name":"Is Anchor Protocol (ANC) Really Dead? — CoinChapter","type":"news_article","url":"https://coinchapter.com/is-anchor-protocol-anc-really-dead/"}],"summary":"Anchor Protocol was a decentralized money market built on the Terra blockchain that offered a near-fixed 20% APY on deposits of the algorithmic stablecoin UST. The advertised yield was structurally unsustainable, requiring repeated multi-hundred-million-dollar cash injections from Terraform Labs to prevent reserve depletion. When UST depegged in May 2022, a bank run on Anchor drained over $14 billion in TVL within days and accelerated the complete collapse of the Terra/Luna ecosystem, destroying an estimated $40 billion in market value.","timeline":[{"date":"2021-03-17","event":"Anchor Protocol launches on the Terra blockchain, offering approximately 20% APY on UST deposits.","source":"CryptoNinjas","source_url":"https://www.cryptoninjas.net/2021/03/17/terraform-labs-launches-anchor-a-low-volatility-high-yield-savings-protocol-on-the-terra-blockchain/"},{"date":"2021-07-01","event":"Terraform Labs injects $70 million UST into the Anchor yield reserve after it approaches depletion for the first time.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/01/28/anchor-protocol-reserves-slide-as-money-markets-founder-talks-down-concerns"},{"date":"2022-01-28","event":"CoinDesk reports the Anchor yield reserve has declined 35.7% in one week to approximately $35.7 million; deposit-to-borrow ratio exceeds 290%.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/01/28/anchor-protocol-reserves-slide-as-money-markets-founder-talks-down-concerns"},{"date":"2022-02-10","event":"Luna Foundation Guard passes proposal to inject $450 million UST into Anchor's yield reserve to prevent imminent depletion.","source":"CoinTelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-injects-450m-ust-into-anchor-reserve-days-before-protocol-depletion"},{"date":"2022-02-18","event":"Terraform Labs executes the $450 million UST injection into the Anchor yield reserve.","source":"CoinTelegraph","source_url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/terra-injects-450m-ust-into-anchor-reserve-days-before-protocol-depletion"},{"date":"2022-03-25","event":"Anchor governance passes Proposal 20, implementing a semi-dynamic earn rate with monthly adjustments of up to 1.5% based on yield reserve performance.","source":"CoinDesk","source_url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2022/03/25/anchor-protocol-will-readjust-interest-rates-each-month-anc-falls-by-5"},{"date":"2022-05-07","event":"Two large addresses withdraw approximately 375 million UST from Anchor; a separate swap of 85 million UST for USDC is recorded on-chain. UST slips to $0.985.","source":"NBER Working Paper No. 31160","source_url":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w31160"},{"date":"2022-05-08","event":"Accelerating withdrawals from Anchor; approximately $2.3 billion UST pulled. UST falls to approximately $0.91.","source":"Caleb & Brown","source_url":"https://calebandbrown.com/blog/a-week-of-terra-ust-and-luna-collapse-explained/"},{"date":"2022-05-09","event":"Approximately 5 billion UST (35% of all UST deposited on Anchor) withdrawn in a single day. UST depeg accelerates.","source":"NBER Working Paper No. 31160","source_url":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w31160"},{"date":"2022-05-11","event":"Over $11 billion UST withdrawn from Anchor cumulatively. UST trades at $0.23. LUNA supply expands hyperinflationally from ~1 billion to over 6 trillion tokens.","source":"NBER Working Paper No. 31160 / CoinCodex","source_url":"https://www.nber.org/papers/w31160"},{"date":"2022-05-12","event":"Terra blockchain halted at block 7,603,700. Anchor Protocol governance votes to halt all earning and borrowing activity.","source":"CryptoSlate","source_url":"https://cryptoslate.com/terras-anchor-protocol-users-vote-to-halt-earning-and-borrowing/"},{"date":"2022-05-31","event":"Anchor TVL falls below $30 million — down from approximately $14–18 billion at peak. Total Terra ecosystem losses estimated at approximately $40 billion.","source":"CoinChapter / CoinCodex","source_url":"https://coinchapter.com/is-anchor-protocol-anc-really-dead/"},{"date":"2023-02-16","event":"SEC files fraud charges against Terraform Labs and Do Kwon in the Southern District of New York, specifically citing Anchor's 20% UST yield as a key element of alleged investor deception.","source":"SEC.gov","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023-32"},{"date":"2024-06-13","event":"Terraform Labs and Do Kwon agree to pay $4.5 billion to settle SEC fraud charges following a unanimous jury verdict. Terraform agrees to wind down operations.","source":"SEC.gov","source_url":"https://www.sec.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2024-73"},{"date":"2025-12-12","event":"Do Kwon sentenced to 15 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer for orchestrating a $40 billion fraud.","source":"NBC News / DOJ SDNY","source_url":"https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/crypto-founder-kwon-sentenced-15-years-prison-40-billion-collapse-rcna248790"}]},"v":1}