LUNA drops 20% in a day as whale dumps Terra's UST stablecoin — selloff risks ahead?

2 years ago

Terra (LUNA) has plunged importantly aft witnessing a FUD attack connected its autochthonal stablecoin TerraUSD (UST).

The LUNA/USD brace dropped 20% betwixt May 7 and May 8, hitting $61, its worst level successful 3 months, aft a whale mass-dumped $285 cardinal worthy of UST. As a effect of this selloff, UST concisely mislaid its U.S. dollar peg, falling to arsenic debased arsenic $0.98.

UST regular terms chart. Source: TradingView

Excessive LUNA supply

LUNA serves arsenic a collateral plus to support UST's dollar peg, according to Terra's elastic monetary policy. Therefore, erstwhile the worth of UST is supra $1, the Terra protocol incentivizes users to pain LUNA and mint UST. Conversely, erstwhile UST's terms drops beneath $1, the protocol rewards users for burning UST and minting LUNA.

Therefore, during UST proviso reduction, LUNA's valuation should decrease. Similarly, erstwhile UST's proviso expands, LUNA's valuation increases, notes Will Comyns, a researcher astatine Messari.

The illustration beneath shows an ongoing downtrend successful the regular UST supply, coinciding with a comparative summation successful regular LUNA supply. On May 8, UST's marketplace underwent contraction for the archetypal clip successful 2 months, dropping by 28.1 cardinal beneath zero. Simultaneously, LUNA's proviso expanded by implicit 436.75 cardinal supra zero.

Daily alteration successful LUNA and UST supply. Source: SmartStake.io

The excessive regular proviso against what appears to beryllium a lowering oregon unchangeable marketplace request whitethorn person pushed LUNA's terms lower.

More symptom for Terra ahead?

Terra's ongoing terms diminution prompted LUNA to retest a enactment confluence consisting of its 50-day exponential moving mean (50-day EMA; the reddish wave) adjacent $56 and a multi-month upward sloping trendline.

Interestingly, the ascending trendline constitutes a rising wedge pattern successful conjugation with different upward trending enactment above. Rising wedges are bearish reversal setups, truthful their occurrence connected Terra's play illustration suggests much downside is probable.

LUNA/USD play terms illustration featuring 'rising wedge' setup. Source: TradingView

As a regularisation of method analysis, a rising wedge breakdown pushes the terms little by arsenic overmuch arsenic the maximum region betwixt the structure's precocious and little trendline.

Related: Luna Foundation Guard acquires further 37,863 BTC arsenic portion of reserve strategy

Thus, if LUNA breaks beneath its wedge from its existent enactment confluence, accompanied by an summation successful volumes, its terms would hazard falling to astir $22.50, down implicit 60% from today's price.

Conversely, a rebound from the enactment confluence would person LUNA positioned for a run-up toward the wedge's precocious trendline — supra $130, a caller grounds high.

The views and opinions expressed present are solely those of the writer and bash not needfully bespeak the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every concern and trading determination involves risk, you should behaviour your ain probe erstwhile making a decision.

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