Pedro starts his day by wiping sleep from his eyes, giving his wife a kiss, and grabbing his phone to check on his Luna Classic validators. In his professional life, he serves as the head brewer at a beerhouse, but in the digital realm, he is known as Vegas, a prominent figure in the Terra Luna Classic community.
The Terra Luna Classic blockchain emerged after Terraform Labs' founder Do Kwon tried to salvage his failing empire in 2022, leading to its eventual abandonment. Kwon has since been convicted of fraud and sentenced to 15 years in prison due to the $40 billion collapse of Terra. Nonetheless, the decentralized network he launched continues to thrive, supported by individuals globally who have invested considerable time and resources into the project.
Decrypt that he had invested about $50,000 in Terra when it collapsed, putting him at the forefront of efforts to revive the project.Each morning, as he descends the stairs, phone in hand, he first checks the Terra developer group chat, followed by emails regarding any potential exploits, and then he scrolls through community discussions on Telegram and Discord while preparing breakfast. Most mornings or during work hours, Vegas serves as a liaison for community members needing assistance or for developers seeking help with proposals.
"Amid all this, I have to navigate the drama that floods Twitter," Vegas, originally from Portugal, told Decrypt, describing it as a full-time job. "If you ask my wife, she'd probably say I’m crazy, but I believe there’s still hope for this chain. I see significant potential for it to return to the top 10 chains."
— Vegas (@VegasMorph) May 31, 2026
Despite his commitment, Vegas faces criticism. When Decrypt visited the Terra Classic Telegram group to talk with him, several direct messages accused him of being a scammer. Vegas attributes this to the challenges of decentralization and the internal conflicts that arise even within a community that has experienced one of the most significant collapses in cryptocurrency history.
"Decentralization is fantastic, yet it can be harsh as individuals vie for the spotlight," Vegas remarked to Decrypt. "I've encountered real-life issues stemming from this, including police visits to my home and workplace, among other distressing events… it’s been a truly tough time."
The Origins of the Crisis
When Terra collapsed in 2022, the LUNA token's price plummeted, and its stablecoin UST lost its peg. In a desperate attempt to rally support, Do Kwon made his now notorious social media post urging his followers to stay strong with the phrase “steady lads.”
In a final effort, Terraform Labs executed a hard fork to eliminate the depegged UST stablecoin, resulting in the original chain being rebranded as Terra Luna Classic, reminiscent of Ethereum Classic.
Deploying more capital - steady lads
— Do Kwon 🌕 (@stablekwon) May 9, 2022
With the original Terra Luna chain left behind, a group known as the Terra Rebels began to form on Discord. Initially, this channel provided support, with anonymous moderator “K_raucks” establishing a helpline for those in distress.
"Many needed someone to talk to, and the anonymity of these spaces allowed them to express their feelings," K_raucks shared with Decrypt. "It’s challenging for those who have lost everything."
The community's initial move towards rebuilding the chain involved proposal 3568, which introduced a 1.2% burn tax on all Terra Luna Classic transactions, trading as LUNC. The intention was to increase demand for LUNC and, in turn, its price. This proposal, authored by Vegas, faced criticism from detractors who viewed it merely as a marketing tactic.
Throughout the summer and fall of 2022, the Terra Rebels continued their efforts to restore the chain. However, tensions peaked in December when they received $150,000 from the community fund to separate the Rebel Station wallet's infrastructure from Terraform Labs. This decision led to community backlash and accusations of attempts to centralize power, resulting in the disbandment of the Terra Rebels.
This internal strife further escalated tensions within the LUNC community.
"The situation is straightforward: if you perceive someone profiting from the chain, you desire their position, leading you to create chaos in their life," Vegas explained.
Due to these political complexities, many developers have departed from Terra Luna Classic over time.
Amid this power struggle, the community persisted in its development endeavors. Projects like the lending protocol Juris Protocol, which aims to serve as an alternative to the Anchor protocol without the "ponzinomics," have emerged, according to its founder Puya Eghtessadi. Other initiatives include meme coins, crypto games, and plans to restore the chain’s stablecoins to their peg.
The community's initiatives have yielded modest results, with LUNC's price increasing by 17.3% over the past year, based on data from CoinGecko. Nevertheless, the token has decreased by 28.7% since the introduction of proposal 3568 in 2022 and is down by 99.99% from its peak price of $119.
While Vegas dreams at night of LUNC reclaiming its top 10 status, many others in the community feel they have found a family bonded through shared trauma, where financial outcomes take a backseat. As with many families, this one is not without its dysfunctions.
"There’s a sense of togetherness, as people are processing or have processed traumatic experiences, but we still share a common goal," K_raucks stated to Decrypt. "What if we can achieve one of the greatest comebacks in history? It’s a true Hail Mary."