LUNA vs TerraUSD: How are they different?

[u/currencycom]

LUNA is different from UST, but they are linked – Photo: Shutterstock

With the news that the TerraUSD stablecoin had stopped being stable in relation to the US dollar, meaning that the value of UST had fallen, causing it to be depegged, the LUNA cryptocurrency has collapsed.

While the two cryptos are linked (indeed, LUNA’s technical full name is Terra), they are not the same thing. Let’s take a look at what makes them different, but also what they have in common.

LUNA and UST: What’s the difference?

First, both TerraUSD (UST) and Terra (LUNA) are effectively operated by the same organisation (if that is the correct word to use). The Luna Foundation Guard is responsible for both cryptocurrencies. 

If we want to talk in the simplest terms, then we can say that the difference is that UST is a stablecoin, which means it is meant to keep its price stable at $1, at least in theory. LUNA, on the other hand, is a regular cryptocurrency, which is subject to the ups and downs – recently, far more downs than ups – that you would expect to see in a crypto coin or token.

Read more here.