Luna Classic Whitepaper
This foundational document was first published in April, 2019 by the founders of Luna Classic: Evan Kereiakes, Do Kwon, Marco Di Maggio, Nicholas Platias.
It’s crucial to understand that much like numerous other community-driven, open-source software initiatives, has undergone significant evolution since its inception.
Although it is several years old, we continue to reference this document because it remains a valuable resource and accurately reflects the vision and principles of Luna Classic at its origin.
Abstract (April 2019)
While many see the benefits of a price-stable cryptocurrency that combines the best of both
fiat and Bitcoin, not many have a clear plan for the adoption of such a currency.
Since the value of a currency as a medium of exchange is mainly driven by its network effects, a successful
new digital currency needs to maximize adoption in order to become useful.
We propose a cryptocurrency, Terra, which is both price-stable and growth-driven. It achieves price-stability
via an elastic money supply, enabled by stable mining incentives. It also uses seigniorage created
by its minting operations as transaction stimulus, thereby facilitating adoption.
There is demand for a decentralized, price-stable money protocol in both fiat and blockchain economies.
If such a protocol succeeds, then it will have a significant impact as the best use case for cryptocurrencies.
Luna Classic’s 2022 Crash
The crash of Luna Classic (formerly known as Terra) was a landmark event in cryptocurrency history, taking place primarily in May 2022. Here is a summary of the key events:
- Early May 2022: The cryptocurrency TerraUSD (UST), an algorithmic stablecoin attached to Terra (LUNA), begins to lose its parity with the US dollar. This parity was maintained by algorithmic mechanisms involving the emission and destruction of LUNA and UST.
- May 9, 2022: UST depreciates significantly, falling below 1 USD, triggering massive panic in the markets. Investors are starting to sell their UST and LUNA en masse.
- May 10-12, 2022: The fall accelerates. LUNA, which was priced over $80 at the start of the month, is seeing its value drop drastically, reaching fractions of a cent in just a few days. LUNA’s overproduction in an attempt to stabilize UST only makes the situation worse.
- May 13, 2022: The Terra blockchain is shut down several times to avoid a governance attack, due to the extreme drop in the value of LUNA. Eventually, the blockchain is paused indefinitely to protect the network.
- May 16, 2022: Do Kwon, the founder of Terraform Labs, proposes a recovery plan that includes the fork of the Terra blockchain. The new network will be called Terra (LUNA), while the old network will be renamed Terra Classic (LUNC).
- May 27, 2022: The new Terra blockchain is launched. The old tokens are renamed LUNA Classic (LUNC) to differentiate the old blockchain from the new.
These events have had significant repercussions on the cryptocurrency ecosystem and sparked much discussion about the viability of algorithmic stablecoins and the associated risks.
Renaissance of Luna Classic
Since Luna Classic’s inception, the community has worked hard to rebuild and strengthen the ecosystem.
Luna Classic has remained active, with constant efforts to improve network security and stability. The resilience of the community and the lessons learned from the 2022 crisis have helped chart a new path for this project, making Luna Classic a determined and innovative player in the field of cryptocurrencies.
From this effort was born a new whitepaper edited by Edward Kim, Tobias Andersen, Marventus, Justin Tabish, A.E., Pedro Borges, David Schmidt and Matthew Western.
Abstract (May 2022)
In early May 2022, the Terra ecosystem collapsed after the algorithmic stablecoin failed to maintain its peg.
Emergency measures were taken by Terraform Labs (TFL) in an attempt to protect Luna and UST, but then were abruptly abandoned by TFL for Luna 2.0 several days later.
At this time, the Terra Classic blockchain has been left crippled and in limbo for the last two months. In the face of impossible odds, the Luna Classic community has self organized and rallied to build and restore the blockchain.
This technical document outlines the steps we, the community, have taken towards the emergency management of the Terra Classic blockchain in the weeks after the UST depeg.
We outline precisely what would be implemented on-chain to mitigate the concerns of affected stakeholders, and build trust for external partners, exchanges, and third-party developers.
For the Luna Classic community, validators, and developers, this outlines concrete steps on how passed governance can and will be achieved. We openly audit our own code and welcome any feedback for improvement.
Let us move forward together as the true community blockchain.
Luna Classic, like many community-driven, open-source software projects, has significantly evolved since its inception. To learn about the latest developments of Luna Classic and understand how protocol changes are implemented, we recommend exploring this guide.

