Gold plated souvenir cryptocurrency Tether (USDT), Bitcoin and Etherium coins arranged beside a … [+]
AFP via Getty Images
Recent monetary policy tightenings have triggered steep declines in many financial markets, including crypto assets which have lost almost $1 trillion in market capitalization in just one week. Extreme market volatility triggered the disintegration of the Terra ecosystem. TerraUSD (UST), a dollar-pegged stablecoin, and its sister token LUNA plummeted and delisted, saddling investors with billions in losses and accelerating the wreckage of other cryptocurrencies. This debacle debunked tall claims of an innovative crypto-financial ecosystem supposedly immune to traditional finance (TradeFi) bank runs. Stablecoins, a breed of cryptocurrencies touted for their purported stability, became vulnerable during the week ending May 13th, 2022, showing a glimpse of how things can go horribly wrong. The algorithmic stablecoin UST lost its dollar peg, collapsed, and wiped out nearly $50 billion in market value. The Terra ecosystem collapse raises urgent questions regarding the robustness of novel crypto assets and the surrounding…
