"Hope to Just Recover Principal"... Investors Hit Hard by 'K-Coin' Luna Crash

Luna Plummets 94% in One Day... "Vortex of Death"
Korbit and Bithumb Designate Luna as a Cautionary Item

Photo by Asia Economy DB.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] # Yoon Mo (25), an office worker who entered the cryptocurrency market last month, has been wearing a gloomy expression while checking cryptocurrency exchange sites every day. This is because the recent crash in cryptocurrency prices has left only about 1 million KRW out of the 6 million KRW he invested in coins. Yoon said, "Several people around me made profits from cryptocurrencies, so I also dreamed of a 'big hit' and invested part of my salary," adding, "But since a few days ago, the cryptocurrency prices have plummeted, and I can't sleep. I watch the market all day. I'm seriously considering whether I should get out now or hold on until I make a profit."

# Lee Mo (29), an office worker living in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, is currently regretting his recent cryptocurrency investment. He invested 2 million KRW in Bitcoin last month and said, "My current return rate is -25%. Seeing the falling graph all day makes me feel bad, and I regret investing a lot. Once I recover the principal, I will never touch the coin market again."

As the Korean cryptocurrency 'Luna' and the stablecoin 'Terra' have crashed, and Bitcoin prices have plunged to around $28,000, cryptocurrency investors are sighing deeply. Luna, known as a 'K-coin,' once dropped by 95%, and Terra by 70%, causing turmoil in the cryptocurrency market.

On the 12th, it was not difficult to see investors expressing stress due to the sharp drop in cryptocurrency prices on online communities and social networking services (SNS).

Photo by Cryptocurrency Investor Community Screen Capture.

One netizen mentioned Luna, known as the so-called 'Kimchi coin,' through a cryptocurrency-related community, saying, "I knew the coin market was risky, but dropping 90% in one day is just unreasonable," adding, "If I had known this would happen, I would have escaped quickly. I lose money and get stressed at the same time."

Other netizens also responded, "We need to stay calm at times like this. If you hope 'it will surely rise since it has fallen this much,' you might end up ruined," "Among people who said they profited from coins, many have now lost 90% of their value," "I don't ask for much. I just want to recover my principal," "Luna ruined my life. What should I do?" and "All my efforts to become rich over two years have ended up worse than doing nothing."

According to cryptocurrency information site CoinMarketCap on the 11th (local time), Luna's price plunged to the $1 range, and Terra dropped to around 60 cents. Around 10 p.m. that day, Luna briefly recorded 1,900 KRW on the cryptocurrency exchange Coinone, and as of 3 p.m. on the 12th, it is trading at 3,600 KRW.

Luna and Terra are cryptocurrencies issued by the blockchain company 'Terraform Labs,' founded by CEO Kwon Do-hyung, a former Apple engineer. Terra is designed to maintain a value pegged to $1 per coin, and Luna is issued to support the value of Terra, which is used in decentralized finance (De-Fi) and other applications.

However, as Terra recently fell below $1, Luna also crashed, triggering a sharp decline in other cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin dropping below $30,000 at one point.

Business Insider reported on this phenomenon, stating, "Terra crashed and Luna plummeted 97% as it could not avoid the 'death spiral' phenomenon."

Photo by Bithumb, screen capture.

Meanwhile, some cryptocurrency exchanges have consecutively designated Luna as a cautionary item. Bithumb announced on the 11th, "Due to the large price fluctuations of Luna, a linked cryptocurrency caused by instability in the dollar peg of the Terra project's algorithmic stablecoin, we designate it as a cautionary investment item to protect investors."

Korbit also explained the reason for designating Luna as a cautionary item in a notice on the 10th, stating, "According to CoinMarketCap, Luna's price dropped more than 50% compared to the price 24 hours earlier, so we issued a cautionary notice."