Terra Luna (LUNA), Terra Classic (LUNC), and Terra Classic USD (USTC) are now on Okcoin under tickers LUNC and USTC, respectively. Here’s what this means for you, in simple terms. 👇
TL;DR
- What? You can now deposit, withdraw, and trade LUNA, LUNC and USTC against USD on Okcoin.
- Who? All Okcoin customers including those in the United States, except for residents of the EU, the UK, Singapore, and Brunei.
- When? Deposits, withdrawals, and trading for LUNA, LUNC, and USTC are live as of June 1.
In summary
- The original LUNA token is now listed under the name Luna Classic (LUNC)
- The new LUNA token is now listed under the name Terra Luna (LUNA)
- The original stablecoin TerraUSD (formerly UST) will stay on the Classic chain, now listed under the name TerraClassicUSD (USTC)
- Customers who held LUNA and UST in their portfolios will now see these assets listed as LUNC and USTC, respectively.
- Customers with LUNA balances at the time of the snapshot (May 7) will be included in the new LUNA airdrop. Learn more.
What happened to Terra?
In 2018, the Terra blockchain, which was designed to create an algorithmic stablecoin, launched its native token – LUNA. Stablecoins are tokens designed to combine the decentralized aspect of cryptocurrencies with the stability of fiat money: In this case, one unit of the stablecoin was meant to always be equal to one U.S. dollar.
To accomplish this, Terra implemented a dual token system between its stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) and LUNA. To keep the price stable, every time a UST token was minted, the equivalent of $1 in Luna was burned, or removed from circulation, and vice versa, to maintain the peg.
In May 2022, a few massive withdrawals from Anchor, a Terra-based decentralized finance (DeFi) protocol that offers yields to those who deposit UST, caused a crash that could not be recovered from. As the UST stablecoin dropped, it brought its sister token Luna down with it.
What’s next for the Terra ecosystem?
The Terra community quickly responded with a plan to reinvent itself. The original Terra blockchain was renamed Terra Classic, and its tokens LUNA and UST were renamed Luna Classic (LUNC) and TerraClassicUSD (USTC). All holders of LUNA prior to attack will be airdropped tokens as per the LUNA 2.0 airdrop.
LUNA is now the name given to the new blockchain launched by the Terra Foundation. The new blockchain will assume Terra’s previous role as the pillar of the Cosmos (ATOM-USD) blockchain ecosystem. The new LUNA, importantly, does not support stablecoins. With 11 projects confirmed for the new ecosystem, founder Do Kwon and the Terra Foundation hope to revive the public’s trust in the Terra ecosystem.
What’s the LUNC token?
The Terra Classic protocol runs on two types of assets:
- Terra stablecoins: Each stablecoin on Terra is pegged to a fiat currency, like the USD, the EUR, GBP, the CNY, the JPY, and more.
- LUNC: LUNC is used to maintain the stability of the Terra stablecoins, and to allow its holders to take part in the protocol’s governance.
This design allows LUNC holders to play a key role in the protocol:
- First, because they are incentivized to trade it against Terra stablecoins at exchange rates programmed to maintain their price stability by either expanding or contracting their supply.
- Second, because the voting rights of their LUNC tokens allow holders to vote for new stablecoins to be added to the list of Terra’s assets.
- Third, because Terra runs on a proof-of-stake mechanism, which means LUNC holders can stake their tokens to mine new transactions.
The role of LUNC in the protocol explains why it has attracted the attention of big players in the Asian tech scene early on: Terra has been developed with the support of the Terra Alliance, a group of 15 major Asian e-commerce companies – with 45 million users and $25 billion transaction volume per year.
What’s the USTC token?
TerraClassicUSD (USTC) is a decentralized stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar and built on the Terra Classic blockchain. The roughly 1.38 billion USTC in Terra’s community pool will be sent to the burn module and immediately discarded from supply in hopes to bring it back to parity with the USD. When the value of 1 USTC is above that of 1 USD, LUNC holders will be able to sell their coins to get USTC – and inversely in the reverse case. This is how USTC’s price is meant to remain stable.
