- LUNA, Terra’s native cryptocurrency, is adding gains and recording multiple new all-time highs, despite broader market depression.
- The Terra blockchain now ranks 3rd in terms of TVL in the DeFi ecosystem, only surpassed by Ethereum and BSC after surpassing Solana.
As the rest of the crypto market grapples with the recent bearish turn, Terra (LUNA) has drawn attention as one of the best-performing cryptocurrencies so far.
According to our data, LUNA has gained 28.7 percent in the last seven days. Yesterday, the coin marked a new all-time high (ATH) of $77.37, before retreating below the $65 mark. At writing time, LUNA was trading at $64.07, having sunk 13.3 percent in the last 24 hours.
Other than its multi-week rally amid broader market depression, LUNA has also made a remarkable comeback since its May downfall. The coin was among the worst-hit during the month’s heated sell-off. At the time, the coin slashed about 81 percent of its value. Even the network’s stablecoin, TerraUSD (UST), was struggling to keep up with its peers.
The tables turn for LUNA
However, LUNA’s stellar revival has seen it register record high after record high in the last couple of weeks. Its gains in the last fortnight are 46.1 percent, with a 28.4 percent upsurge in the last month. LUNA has also given Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, a run for its money. Since the May crash, LUNA’s value has risen by 2700 percent, while ETH’s has only seen a 270 percent raise.
Even more, the token has outpaced popular meme-inspired coins Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB). At writing time, LUNA was the 10th largest cryptocurrency with a $24.86 billion market cap, while DOGE and SHIB claimed the 11th and 13th positions, respectively.
Terra, LUNA’s native blockchain is also making highlights with recent achievements in the decentralized finance (DeFi) space. The network’s total value locked (TVL) recently hit $13.9 billion, according to Chinese journalist Wu Blockchain. This value represents a 43 percent growth in the last week alone. The new TVL now places Terra in 3rd rank, having surpassed Avalanche and Solana, according to DeFi Llama. Terra is currently only surpassed by Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain (BSC) in terms of leading DeFi networks.
According to DeFi Llama, TVL on the Terra continues to hit new highs, surpassing Avalanche and Solana to rank third. In the past 7d, Terra-TVL has grown 42.9%. Terra Token Luna also quickly recovered the decline and set a new high. pic.twitter.com/wEW4ZnhfWG
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 5, 2021
SEC and Terra faceoff
Last month, the Terra community initiated an $88.7 million token burn that saw LUNA hit an ATH of $54.95. The ecosystem, however, attracted negative attention from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Even though the regulator is yet to confirm this, it has suggested that Terraform Labs and its co-founder and CEO Do Kwon, may have participated in the unlawful sale of unregistered securities through its Mirrored Assets (mAssets).
In a plot twist, Terra made the first move to sue the SEC contesting the environment under which Kwon was served. More remains to be seen on the developments between the two.