What is Terra (LUNA)? A Comprehensive Review of the Project

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Terra (LUNA) is the native token of the Terra blockchain (Terra 2.0). Positioned at the 118th spot in the cryptocurrency market cap rankings, this digital asset is primarily employed for mining and governance objectives.

Project mission

Terra is an open-source blockchain designed for creating decentralized applications and organizations. It's fully community-owned and offers top-notch innovative tools for DeFi, GameFi, and NFT projects.
Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Terra, also known as Terra 2.0, was initiated by Do Kwon, the creator of the Terra blockchain which is currently operating as Terra Classic. The launch of Terra 2.0 was supported by the community after the collapse of the algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD and the native cryptocurrency LUNA in May 2022. Terra 2.0 utilizes the Cosmos SDK and the Byzantine fault tolerance Tendermint consensus algorithm, operating on a Proof-of-Stake model.

According to Do Kwon, Terra 2.0's primary objective was to reimburse USDT and LUNA holders for their losses. Notably, the new blockchain ecosystem differs from the previous one in that it lacks an algorithmic stablecoin and is fully community-owned. Neither Do Kwon, arrested in March 2023, nor Daniel Shin have any influence on the project's operations. Terra 2.0 carries on the goals of Terra Classic by providing the best possible environment for developers of decentralized applications.

Getting to know Terra (LUNA)

Purpose

LUNA is the native token of the Terra blockchain, utilized for governance, mining, and transaction fees payment within the network. With the LUNA token, users can participate in community voting, purchase digital art items, and earn rewards through staking.

Emission and allocation

May 28, 2022 marked the debut of the LUNA, featuring a total supply of 1 billion units. A fraction of these tokens remain locked post-release and are gradually unlocked over a span of two to four years.

During the airdrop, the tokens were distributed as follows:

  • 30% – Community;
  • 35% – Pre-attack LUNA holders pre-attack;
  • 10% – Post-attack LUNA holders;
  • 10% – Pre-attack UST holders;
  • 15% – Post-attack UST holders. 

The airdrop event served as yet another catalyst for the heightened interest in the project. However, it encountered some bumps along the way, as several users experienced inaccurate token distribution or received no tokens at all. Terra took notice of the investors' grievances and promptly acknowledged the error, vowing to address and fix the issue in due course.

In addition, the project vowed to burn a whopping 1 billion UST from the community pool to slim down the ecosystem's debt and give a boost to investor confidence.

Current market landscape

According to coinmarketcap.com, at the time of writing, the circulating supply of Terra (LUNA) is 239,435,175. The coin is trading at $1.32, with a market capitalization of $315,077,076 and a daily trading volume of $105,735,605.