Purchase of 42 million UST was done in four large transactions
According to WhalesStats data, over 42 million Terra (UST) have been caught by top ETH whales in the last 24 hours.
Simply defined, a whale is someone who owns a chunk of cryptocurrencies or is otherwise a large holder. Terra USD, or UST, is the decentralized and algorithmic stablecoin of the Terra blockchain.
The purchase of the 42 million UST was made in four large transactions, as reported by whale-tracking service WhaleStats over the past four hours.
The transactions had 15,000,000 UST or $15,060,000 worth purchased, then 9,000,000 UST or $9,036,000 worth, then another transaction of an ETH whale acquiring 10,000,000 UST or $10,040,000 worth. The fourth transaction had an ETH whale purchasing 8,000,000 UST or $8,032,000 worth.
During periods of volatility and macroeconomic lows in the cryptocurrency market, large investors tend to shift their attention to less volatile cryptoassets such as stablecoins.
Terra (UST) as a stablecoin
UST, Terra’s native dollar-pegged stablecoin, is kept stable by a swap mechanism, in which traders can sell 1 UST for $1 worth of LUNA at any moment.
Increased stability can lead to higher demand for UST, reducing the supply of LUNA. The generation of UST is assisted by the burning of LUNA, therefore, the fortunes of LUNA are inextricably linked to that of UST. In other words, to mint a UST, $1 of LUNA must be taken out of circulation.
UST’s market capitalization has risen dramatically to $14.7 billion, according to data tracking website CoinMarketCap, making the dollar-pegged digital asset the world’s fourth-largest stablecoin. Meanwhile, Terra’s LUNA has steadily risen in market value to become the seventh-largest cryptocurrency, trading at $91.65 at press time.
