Major exchanges such as Binance, eToro, Bybit, BitMex, and others have decided to delist LUNA in an effort to protect traders after recent events surrounding Luna and the UST. Prior to recent events, LUNA was one of the hottest tokens in the crypto space.
LUNA has been decimated after recent events, with the token’s value all but wiped out after recent events.
Bear Market Woes
The recent bear market has hit LUNA hard, as the governance token behind Terra’s ecosystem saw its value wiped out. In fact, the token’s value plummeted so quickly that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was forced to act and turn its back on the fallen token. Binance, in an announcement, stated that it was suspending perpetual contracts on LUNA/USDT after it had authorized the leverage to 8x.
However, LUNA continued to drop, with no signs of stopping. As a result, only hours after the first announcement, Binance, in another announcement, stated that it would be removing cross and isolated margin pairs, spot trading pairs, and BUSD margined perpetual contracts on LUNA. With all the removals, it effectively means Binance has said goodbye to the fallen token.
Not A Surprising Reaction
While being viewed as one, the reaction isn’t spontaneous. On 11th May, the exchange had reduced the maximum leverage on LUNA features after a wave of liquidations thanks to overleveraged positions. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao warned that investors need to respect the market. He called the market a new market with new stablecoins and that, “When they are hot, they are all the rage. [But] When they drop, it can be a vicious circle.”
BitMEX And Others Join Binance
BitMEX, one of the leading cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges, joined Binance, announcing that it was delisting Luna Perpetual Swaps. The swaps had generated a majority of the volume on digital assets on the platform. BitMEX made the announcement just hours after Binance announced the delisting of the derivative after its devastating collapse.
“On 12th May 2022 at 20:00 UTC, BitMEX will delist the LUNAUSD and LUNAUSDT Perpetual Swap contracts. The contracts will be settled early at 20:00 UTC on 12th May 2022 according to the standard practice described in our Exchange Guide.”
Bybit and eToro also announced their own measures, with the former announcing that it was delisting LUNA/BTC, while eToro announced that it was delisting LUNA/USD. There are also several reports circulating that Crypto.com has also delisted LUNA and paused withdrawals but is yet to announce the move officially.
Terra Validators Halt Blockchain
Meanwhile, Terra validators halted the Terra blockchain for the second time as they tried to come to grips with the ongoing situation and come up with their next move. The blockchain was halted on Thursday as well, as LUNA dropped in value. Terra validators are continuing to come up with answers to this unprecedented crisis.
“The Terra blockchain has officially halted at block 7607789. Terra Validators have halted the network to come up with a plan to reconstitute it. More updates to come.”
Can LUNA Recover?
Purchasing LUNA at this point would be like walking into a lake of fire, as more exchanges delist the token. However, some traders have argued that the risk/reward of buying LUNA could make sense. LUNA still has an extremely large following in the crypto space, and investors are bullish on the project and team leadership, although Do Kwon has fallen out of favor in the crypto space. Some users and traders on social media are still optimistic that Terra and the Luna Foundation Guard could put together a recovery plan.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.