Domestic Cryptocurrency Exchanges Successively Delist Luna Amid 'Crash Crisis'

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Major domestic cryptocurrency exchanges have decided to delist Luna following the crash incident.

According to industry sources on the 14th, Bithumb announced the termination of trading support for Luna the day before. Trading will end from 3 PM on the 27th.

Bithumb explained the reason for ending trading support, stating, "The Luna network is not operating stably, and the Terra project's algorithmic stablecoin value linkage remains unstable," adding, "The foundation's future plans for damage recovery are unclear, and at the same time, due to a sharp increase in circulation volume, prices are fluctuating rapidly. To prevent investor losses, we have urgently decided to terminate trading support."

Additionally, Bithumb announced that staking services for Luna will also end from the 20th. Staking refers to the act of entrusting held cryptocurrencies to a blockchain network, participating in the platform's operation and verification, and receiving cryptocurrency rewards in return.

Earlier, when the price of TerraUSD (UST), a stablecoin designed to be pegged to 1 dollar, plummeted, the price of its sister coin Luna also dropped, causing a major crash. Unlike other stablecoins backed by safe assets such as cash or government bonds, UST applied an algorithm that maintains its value through Luna. However, due to concerns about an economic recession and other factors, the prices of UST and Luna fell, resulting in the crash.

The first to decide on delisting Luna was Gopax. Gopax announced that trading and deposits for Luna and TerraKRT will end at 3 PM on the 16th.

In a notice, Gopax stated, "Due to the rapid increase in circulation volume and price fluctuations of the cryptocurrency, we judged that normal operation of the blockchain network would be difficult in the future," and added, "In accordance with our delisting regulations, we will potentially terminate trading support to protect investors." TerraKRT refers to a stablecoin pegged to the Korean won.

Upbit, the number one cryptocurrency exchange in domestic market share, also announced its delisting policy for Luna through a notice. Luna was listed on the BTC market, where cryptocurrency trading is possible with Bitcoin, but trading support will end from 12 PM on the 20th.

Upbit stated, "Since being designated as a cautionary item, Luna's rapid increase in circulation volume and price fluctuations have continued, and the UST peg is not functioning properly. Furthermore, there has been no meaningful progress in the project's business operations, including UST peg work." It added, "The reason for ending trading support is serious, and it is judged to be an urgent case to protect Upbit members, so trading support will be terminated."