Crypto exchanges signal support for Terra’s ‘rebirth’

Crypto exchanges are throwing their weight behind Do Kwon’s audacious plan to raise Terra from the ashes of a devastating collapse earlier this month.

In the past 24 hours, Huobi, BitfinexBitrue, Kucoin, and Bybit have all tweeted their intention to support new versions of Terra and its native token LUNA.

On his own Twitter, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon retweeted posts from each exchange as evidence of support for Terra 2.0. He also retweeted a post from Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX — which has subsequently been deleted. 

Binance said in a tweet on May 25 that it is working closely with the Terra team on its recovery plan, and is “aiming to provide impacted users on Binance with the best possible treatment.” But it has not yet officially committed to supporting the relaunch. 

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The Terra ecosystem was left in tatters after its algorithmic stablecoin UST imploded a few weeks ago, taking LUNA down with it. The collapse of Terra’s tokens wiped out some $40 billion in market value. Mike Novogratz, the billionaire CEO of crypto investment manager Galaxy Digital and a prominent LUNA backer, told shareholders in a recent letter that the events of recent weeks had “dented confidence in crypto and DeFi.”

Yet Kwon — who is known for his brash manner on social media — has wasted no time devising a plan to revive the ecosystem in the form of a new Terra blockchain and LUNA 2.0 tokens, which will be airdropped to those affected by the events of recent weeks. A governance vote on his proposal passed on May 25, with 65.5% of the vote in favor. Currently, the plan is to launch the new network on Friday.

FTX was contacted for comment on its Terra 2.0 stance but did not respond by press time. 

This story has been updated to include statements of support for Terra 2.0 from Kucoin and Bybit. 

About Author

Ryan Weeks is deals editor at the The Block, focused on fundraising, M&A and institutional trends in the crypto space, among other things. He is particularly interested in investigative work — so please send tips! Ryan previously worked at Financial News, Dow Jones as a fintech correspondent in London. Prior to that, he wrote for several different publications, including Sifted, AltFi and Wired. Beyond journalism, Ryan is a keen reader and writer. He enjoys all things active, especially running, rugby, climbing and tennis.