LUNA, a crypto gem you can’t ignore 💎; SoFi, the AWS of FinTech? 🤔; London Stock Exchange goes into crypto🔥

Good Morning FinTech, February 23

Good day Everyone,

And happy Wednesday! Today is super hot, so let’s just jump straight into 3 awesome FinTech stories that I’ve prepared for you today (+7 funding announcements):

LUNA, a crypto gem you can’t ignore 💎

The news 🗞 The Luna Foundation Guard (LFG) has just raised $1B through an over-the-counter sale of LUNA, the native token of the Terra blockchain, The Block reported.

The raise, one of the largest in the history of the crypto sector, was led by Jump Crypto and Three Arrows Capital, with Republic Capital, GSR, Tribe Capital, DeFiance Capital, and other unnamed investors participating.

The raise 💸 LFG, a non-profit organization based in Singapore, was set up in January to help grow the Terra ecosystem. Proceeds from the $1B sale will go towards establishing a bitcoin-denominated forex reserve for UST, Terra’s biggest stablecoin.

The USP 🥊 UST is a so-called algorithmic stablecoin that has become popular within DeFi ecosystems. Pegged to the price of the US dollar, it currently boasts a market capitalization of more than $12B, a number that has more than tripled since November last year. Not too bad! 👀

LFG said that the reserve created through the $1B capital injection will effectively act as a “release valve” for UST redemptions; it is designed to ensure that the price of the stablecoin remains pegged to that of the dollar during sharp selloffs in crypto markets.

Let’s briefly take a look at how this works, how it’s different from traditional stablecoins like USDT or USDC, for example, and why you must keep an eye on LUNA.