A price surge in the LUNA digital token over the past week has made it the second-largest staked asset among all major cryptocurrencies in terms of value, according to data from CoinDesk.
LUNA has now surpassed Ethereum (ETH), which has just over $28 billion U.S. in staked value.
The latest data shows that over $30 billion U.S. worth of LUNA is now staked directly on various protocols, representing a majority of the token’s $34 billion U.S. market capitalization.
The price of LUNA has risen nearly 70% in the past week amid strong fundamentals and positive investor sentiment. LUNA is one of two tokens issued by Terra, a blockchain protocol that uses dollar-pegged stablecoins to build a global payments system.
Investors have been flocking to stablecoins, which are pegged to the U.S. dollar, ever since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
LUNA has been one of the best performing cryptocurrencies over the past two years with a nearly 76,130% gain from a low of $0.12 U.S. on March 18, 2020, to nearly $95 today.
Staking in cryptocurrencies is a process where token holders deposit – or lock away – several tokens to become active participants in running the network in return for rewards. These rewards are referred to as “yields” and are usually higher than those offered on deposits made at traditional financial institutions.
Solana’s SOL token remains the world’s most staked cryptocurrency with over $40 billion U.S. worth of SOL staked on various protocols. However, Ethereum retains its crown in terms of total value locked on applications built on its blockchain. Over $118 billion U.S. is currently locked on Ethereum-based apps, compared to $23 billion U.S. on Terra-based apps and $7 billion U.S. on Solana-based apps.
