The 50 Most Interesting Companies In Bitcoin's History: 43/50
Terra / Luna
The Idea: Build an alternative blockchain ecosystem with a stablecoin (UST) backed by a mechanism token (LUNA), not dollar reserves. Kwon's bet was that they could create a more 'efficient' stablecoin than Tether or USDC.
Early Traction: In 2021-2022, Terra had the fastest-growing ecosystem in crypto. UST became a top-5 stablecoin by market cap. Massive VC backing from Galaxy Digital, a16z, Pantera, and others.
Peak Stats: $18B+ in Terra ecosystem value. LUNA token reached $80+ per token, giving the project ~$40B market cap at its peak. Anchor Protocol offering 20% yields on UST deposits attracted billions in deposits.
Status Today: Failed. Collapsed catastrophically in May 2022. UST depegged from the dollar, LUNA crashed from $80 to fractions of a cent in 48 hours. $40B in value was wiped out in days. Kwon became a fugitive; arrested in Montenegro in March 2023, extradited to South Korea. Convicted of fraud in December 2024.
Why It Matters:
Terra/Luna is the most dramatic implosion in crypto history — an entire $40B ecosystem destroyed in 48 hours. It proved that mechanism-based stablecoins without hard collateral backing are inherently unstable, and that the 20% yield promised by Anchor was economically impossible to sustain.