Disclaimer: The datasets shared in the following article have been compiled from a set of online resources and do not reflect AMBCrypto’s own research on the subject.
LUNA is a cryptocurrency that supported the now-defunct stablecoin TerraUSD (UST). Native to the Terra blockchain, the pair of crypto-tokens was launched in 2019.
You must be aware that these twin coins collapsed in May 2022, precipitating the cryptocurrency crash witnessed in the second quarter of 2022.
The journey of this audacious venture has been full of ups and downs. Two techpreneurs, Do Kwon and Daniel Shin, founded the Terraform Labs in Seoul, South Korea in 2018. The next year, the pair launched the Terra blockchain and offered the UST stablecoin, pegged to the Luna token.
The project was launched in order to deliver a stablecoin that could be relied on. It aimed to deliver the benefits of price stability, wider currency adoption, decentralized anonymity and fast, affordable payments.
But the Terra token system completely failed in May 2022; a fork was devised as per the Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2. A new version of Luna (LUNA) was launched, with the older one (LUNC) co-existing.
Transactions on the Terra 2.0 blockchain are validated through the proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism.
The leading cryptocurrency, Ethereum, has also transitioned from the proof-of-work to proof-of-stake mechanism that has only made the competition among PoS blockchains tougher.
The network has 130 validators working at a given point of time. As a PoS platform, it is considered to be a very eco-friendly token.
Why these projections matter?
A stablecoin is intended to safeguard coin holders against the volatility of other cryptocurrencies. It is pegged to either a fiat currency such as USD or to a supporting cryptocurrency. Terra USD (UST) was pegged to Luna Classic (LUNC- then, only Luna).
This is where the problem began. A cryptocurrency is in no way an equivalent to gold reserves. As UNA prices got destabilized, it adversely affected UST prices too, and the entire stablecoin system collapsed in May 2022.
For a few initial years, LUNC kept performing well. And, it was even among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market value by the end of 2021.
But the Terra system collapsed in May 2022 leading to a fork. It, basically, launched a new version of Luna. The Terra Ecosystem Revival Plan 2 was implemented according to which both versions of the Luna token can exist.
Undoubtedly, the future of this cryptocurrency is crucial in determining if a failed crypto can make a comeback and grow.
Well, its performance after the May 2022 debacle has been, so far, less than celebratory.
But if LUNC trades well in the future, it will be a cause of celebration not only for this particular cryptocurrency but for a lot of other cryptos.
LUNC’s price, volume, and everything in between
Since its launch in 2019, LUNC’s price kept floating around $0.2 and $1.3 until April 2021. When the crypto market boomed in mid-2021, its price began to increase. And, it nearly touched $100 by the end of the year.
Starting from 2022, it kept oscillating between $50 and $100 and reached an all-time high (ATH) of $119.18 on 5 April 2022. The next month, its price began to fall and the Terra system collapsed in mid-May.
Source: CoinMarketCap
Bloomberg reported in May 2022 that the market lost approximately $45 billion within a week following the Terra collapse. Terraform Labs and its co-founder Do Kwon were fined $78.4 million in corporate and income tax by the Korean National Tax Service.
On 25 May 2022, Bloomberg reported that the network launched a new version of the cryptocurrency, LUNA. The older crypto is now called Luna Classic (LUNC) and the newer one is called Luna 2.0 (LUNA).
Though LUNC, the older cryptocurrency, has not been entirely replaced, a lot of users are moving to LUNA. It should be noted here that LUNC so far has not been performing well at all.
The market capitalization of LUNC similarly reflects the market sentiment regarding the crypto. Throughout 2019-20, it didn’t even reach up to $500 million, but began increasing in 2021.
Now, towards the beginning of February, it crossed the $1 billion mark. And, by the end of 2022, it was above $36 billion.
LUNC’s journey kept moving upwards the next year too and in April 2022, it crossed $41 billion. But post the crash of May 2022, it has been oscillating between $300 million and $1.5 billion.
South Korea is now seeking to revoke Kwon’s passport following which he might be forced to return to South Korea. A request has been passed to the nation’s Foreign Ministry to scrap the travel document, reported Bloomberg. An arrest warrant has already been issued against him and other members.
Recently, Financial Times reported that South Korean prosecutors have reportedly asked Interpol to issue a Red Notice against Kwon. Kwon, however, tweeted that he is not on the run from any interested government agency and added that the company is in full cooperation and doesn’t have anything to hide.
The crypto crisis that followed the collapse of the twin coins, Terra USD and Luna Classic, has adversely affected the entire crypto market. LUNC, in such circumstances, remains particularly vulnerable.
LUNC’s 2025 predictions
Before you read further, you should understand that predictions of different cryptocurrency platforms and analysts widely vary as different analysts rely on different sets of metrics to arrive at their conclusions.
A good number of times, these predictions can go wildly wrong. Besides, nobody can foresee events such as the Chinese crypto ban or the Russia-Ukraine crisis. Let us now have a look at what different analysts have to say about the future of LUNC in 2025.
Telegaon predicts that the minimum and maximum prices of LUNC in 2025 will be $0.0089 and $0.028, respectively.
Other experts, after analyzing the previous performance of LUNC, predict that its average price in the said year will be $0.015.
Coinpedia is, however, not so optimistic about the future of Luna Classic. It predicts that LUNC will be traded as high as $0.002846 and as low as $0.001094 in 2025. Its average price in the said year will be $0.001776.
LUNC’s 2030 predictions
Telegaon continues to remain optimistic about the future of LUNC in 2030 as well. It predicted that LUNC will be traded as high as $5.23 and as low as $1.93 in 2030, with its average price remaining at $3.11.
On the other hand, Bitcoin Wisdom predicted that LUNC’s price will keep oscillating between $0.002603 and $0.002834 in 2030. Its average price in the said year will be $0.002719 as per the prediction.
Disclaimer
Now, it’s worth addressing the elephant in the room too. Pre and post-crash projections and opinions on the project have changed significantly over the last few months. This means that there is a lot of uncertainty around. For instance, back in March, Professor Carol Alexander, a member of Finder’s panel of experts, claimed,
“… as its name implies, it could actually go to the moon (for a while).”
On the contrary, there are others who believe,
“There is a lot of uncertainty around LUNA right now – the project is really ambitious and the objective an admirable one but just what the effect on the LUNA token itself will be is unclear.”
Conclusion
So far, we have provided a succinct summary of LUNA Classic (LUNC). For those of you contemplating investing in cryptocurrency, we would like to reiterate that cryptocurrency predictions cannot be relied upon entirely. And, you should conduct your own research before making an investment in LUNC.
The cryptocurrency market still remains very bearish and is likely to remain volatile for the next few months.
A recent Bloomberg report says that an upcoming legislation would ban algorithmic stablecoins such as TerraUSD the collapse of which led to a global crypto crash. The said bill is currently being drafted in the U.S. House. The bill would make it illegal to develop or issue new “endogenously collateralized stablecoins.”
We should also keep an eye on how the Terra community would adapt to the changes in technology and the market. It will determine if these developments will be successful in regaining investors’ trust.