I’ve always been a fan of exciting blockchain projects so when I stumbled across a new network called Terra, and the token it offers called Luna, I had to do more digging after having a brief read about it.
Below is some more info about the project from CoinMarketCap
What Is Terra (LUNA)
Terra is a blockchain protocol that uses fiat-pegged stablecoins to power price-stable global payments systems. According to its white paper, Terra combines the price stability and wide adoption of fiat currencies with the censorship-resistance of Bitcoin (BTC) and offers fast and affordable settlements.
Development on Terra began in January 2018, and its mainnet officially launched in April 2019. As of September 2020, it offers stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar, South Korean won, Mongolian tugrik and the International Monetary Fund's Special Drawing Rights basket of currencies — and it intends to roll out additional options.
Terra's native token, LUNA, is used to stabilize the price of the protocol's stablecoins. LUNA holders are also able to submit and vote on governance proposals.
So I started looking into how I could get my hands on some Luna tokens in South Africa. None of the popular exchanges like VALR & LUNO list Luna on their exchanges, so you would need to buy on an international exchange like Binance.
- First you need to deposit ZAR into VALR or LUNO to enable you to buy Bitcoin. Once you have bought your Bitcoin you will need to transfer it to an exchange that supports Luna
- I prefer using Binance as an international exchange as it has hundreds of coins & tokens to purchase or trade (eg Wave and XRP)
- Once you have setup your Binance account you can go to the LUNA/BTC Trading page. They also offer a LUNA/BNB, LUNA/USDT, LUNA//BUSD & LUNA/EUR pairs
- Once you have your LUNA safely tucked away on Binance, you can opt to leave it there and just keep accumulating, or there is another option called staking.
Staking is the process of actively participating in transaction validation (similar to mining) on a proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain. On these blockchains, anyone with a minimum-required balance of a specific cryptocurrency can validate transactions and earn Staking rewards. - To stake your LUNA, you will need to move it out of Binance onto the Terra Network Blockchain. This may sound a bit daunting, but I promise it’s pretty easy
- First off, you will need to create a Terra Wallet. This is done using the Terra Station software. You do not need to sign up or give any details as this is a completely decentralized exchange. Make sure you save your keywords when signing up to the new wallet. You will need these in the future should you wish to restore your Wallet
You can download the Chrome Extension (which I find the easiest to use or download the actual software)
You can go to https://station.terra.money/ website, where you can connect a Terra Wallet. To do this click on Connect in the top left hand side of the page.
- Once you have created your wallet, you will see it in the top left of your page (instead of the Connect Button)
The address format is always in the format of “terraxxxxx”
You will need to copy this address and keep it handy while you log into Binance - You will need to go to the Withdraw section of your LUNA wallet in Binance. You can do this by clicking Wallet->Spot and then search for your LUNA coins
- In the address section paste your address you copied in Step 7
You need to leave the Memo Section empty. You may get an error after clicking submit, but you can ignore that. I have seen a few people say the transfer did not come through when they put a Memo in.
- After a few minutes you should get a notification in your Terra Station console that the coins are there and are available. From here there are a couple of things you can do. I mentioned earlier about Staking. There are a number of Validators you can stake your LUNA with.
- Click on the Staking Menu item on the left, and then select your preffered Validator. There are hundreds and each one gives a brief explanation of why you should choose them
- Once you have staked your LUNA, you will start receveing rewards. Based on the number of LUNA you have staked and the time you have left them with the Validator, your rewards can be pretty good!
While LUNA is still a fairly new project there is loads of potential for this platform. There is a lot of additional project such as Mirror & Anchor which all offer various benefits