The Downfall of Terra: A Brief Recap
It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Terra ecosystem, and not the fun kind with cotton candy and screaming kids. The dramatic collapse of Terra’s stablecoin, USTC, which got everyone talking (and panicking), coincided with the fall of its co-founder Do Kwon from grace to… well, a wanted man in South Korea. This rapid decline has left many projects scrambling to reassess their strategies.
Apollo DAO Bows Out
In the midst of this chaos, Apollo DAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that sprung up to build on the Terra blockchain, announced its decision to shut down its vaults on Terra Classic (LUNC). The developers asserted:
“Since the collapse of Terra, Apollo has continued to maintain its LP vaults on Terra Classic; however, due to the low return and high level of required maintenance, it no longer makes sense to support the Terra Classic network.”
The decision was likely not met with cheers, as over 10,000 tokenholders were left holding the bag. The Apollo DAO vaults were primarily designed to facilitate trading between USTC and LUNC, which, let’s face it, have seen better days. Like, years ago.
Why the Withdrawal?
You might wonder why Apollo DAO decided to pull the plug. Well, the explosive decline of token values since May, paired with looming bureaucratic woes, made for a perfect storm. With the new Terra proposal aiming to tax 1.2% on every on-chain LUNC transaction, the developers cited the challenges of implementation as a deal-breaker for those fancy vaults. It seems that even in the world of cryptocurrencies, sometimes red tape tangles tighter than a wadded-up newspaper.
Looking Ahead: What’s Next?
Despite the setback, Apollo DAO isn’t throwing in the towel completely. Developers stated, “We will continue to assess the viability of relaunching our vaults on Terra Classic; however, we would like these to be fully designed around the requirements of Terra Classic to ensure a greater product market fit.” So, hope is not entirely lost yet! Meanwhile, the organization will shift its focus to liquid staking and developing the Apollo Safe across various Cosmos chains, which sounds fancy and, dare I say, a more promising venture.
Time to Withdraw
For users with remaining funds in Apollo DAO’s vaults, the clock is ticking. With the dawn of the new Terra tax proposal looming, folks are encouraged to withdraw their funds before it’s too late—or before they end up being the equivalent of a forgotten snack in the back of the fridge. At its peak last September, Apollo DAO had a total value locked (TVL) of around $200 million. Fast forward to today, and that number has plummeted to less than $125,000. That’s what we call a wake-up call!
