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Description

What is Terra?

Terra is a decentralized financial payment network that rebuilds the traditional payment stack on the blockchain. It utilizes a basket of fiat-pegged stablecoins, algorithmically stabilized by its reserve currency Luna, to facilitate programmable payments and open financial infrastructure development. As of December 2020, the network has transacted an estimated $299 billion for over 2 million users. 

What is Luna? 

Luna is the reserve currency of the Terra platform. It has three core functions: i) mine Terra transactions through staking, ii) ensure the price stability of Terra stablecoins and iii) provide incentives for the platform’s blockchain validators. 

The Terra protocol runs on a Proof of Stake (PoS) blockchain, whereby miners must stake their Luna in order to mine transactions. All else being equal, a validator who has staked more Luna has a higher chance of generating the next Terra block compared to another validator who has staked less. In essence, Luna represents a validator’s mining power. 

However, in providing network security and validation, Luna holders and stakers are exposed to the price risks associated with the asset. This is because the Terra protocol readily exchanges Terra stablecoins for Luna at their determined exchange rate to maintain the peg. When demand is high and prices are above the peg, it will sell stablecoins for Luna. When demand is low and prices are below the peg, it does the opposite. In this way, validators absorb the short-term volatility of the network.

To compensate for this, validators are given rewards in the form of: i) staking rewards, ii) gas fees, iii) taxes, and iv) seigniorage rewards. Staking rewards are determined by the size of a validator’s stake and are structured to incentivize transaction volume increases. Gas fees and taxes are similar in that a small fee is imposed on all Terra transactions, distributed to validators on a pro-rata basis. Finally, seigniorage rewards are given to validators who participate in the Luna exchange rate oracle process.

These rewards seek to create mining demand that is stable and evergreen throughout all economic conditions. If rewards are increasing, the protocol decreases network fees and seigniorage rewards, and vice versa. More information on Luna and its rewards can be found in Terra’s Docs website, as well as in its whitepaper. Alternatively, you can watch our video to learn about the Luna ecosystem.

Where and how do I obtain Luna?

Luna can be purchased from cryptocurrency exchanges such as KuCoin or Huobi. You can browse through the various centralized and decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges via the link provided. Alternatively, this page’s markets tab also has a list of all the exchanges which currently trade Luna pairs. 

How do Terra stablecoins maintain their price stability?

The Terra network achieves price stability by algorithmically adjusting its supply based on fluctuations in demand. Once it detects that a Terra stablecoin has deviated from its peg, it will apply pressure to correct the deviation. 

The protocol makes use of natural market forces to achieve this. For instance, if the price of 1 TerraUSD (UST) is above its $1 US dollar peg, the protocol must compensate by increasing the supply of UST. It mints some of the stablecoin and sells them on the open market. Arbitrageurs can then swap $1 US dollar worth of Luna in exchange for 1 TerraUSD and stand to profit. Minting and swapping occur until the supply of new UST is sufficient to bring back UST’s peg. 

Likewise, should the price of 1 TerraUSD drop below its $1 US dollar target, the protocol will decrease the supply of the stablecoin. It mints Luna and sells them on the open market. Profit seekers can then exchange 1 UST for $1 US dollar worth of Luna and pocket the difference. In both cases, the Terra protocol prints as much stablecoin or Luna as necessary until the peg for each asset is satisfied.

The protocol thus serves as a market-maker for Terra/Luna swaps. So long as there is a certain level of demand within the Terra ecosystem, either driven by Luna’s value or Terra’s transactions, the exchange of value between both assets preserves stability and mitigates volatility. To learn more about Terra’s price peg and the role that Luna plays in this mechanism, you can check out Terra’s stability mechanism page or its whitepaper.

Which companies use the Terra payment network?

Terra seeks to achieve its vision through two prongs: stability and mass adoption. For the latter, the platform has brought together a group of companies into a consortium known as the Terra Alliance, whose goal is to promote the use of Terra’s payment network in the eCommerce market. The Alliance boasts several well-known players such as TMON, Qoo10, Carousell and Pomelo. In 2019, the Alliance had an estimated $25 billion in gross merchandise value (GMV) and 45 million users.

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Max Price chart

Terra price today is $0.000200118145 with a 24-hour trading volume of $2,270,296,086. LUNA price is down -12.0% in the last 24 hours. It has a circulating supply of 6.5 Trillion LUNA coins and a total supply of 6.91 Trillion. If you are looking to buy or sell Terra, FTX is currently the most active exchange.

Terra hit an all time high of $119.18 on Apr 05, 2022 (about 1 month).

Terra had an all time low of $0.000000999967 on May 13, 2022 (4 days).

The 24 hour trading volume of Terra is $2,270,296,086.

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