How does the Mint Cash airdrop lead the rollercoaster ride of the USTC price?

Recently, the anticipation of the airdrop of Mint Cash, a new stablecoin project in the Terra ecosystem, has caused a storm in the cryptocurrency market. As a stablecoin under the original Terra ecosystem, the originally calm market price of USTC suddenly fluctuated violently.

Recently, the price of USTC has increased by more than 150% in 24 hours. The main driver behind this price increase is the market’s eagerness to anticipate the Mint Cash airdrop. Shin Hyojin, the head of the Mint Cash project, clarified the airdrop plan for USTC holders, which will airdrop at a rate of $1 equivalent per USTC, providing holders with a discount of up to 99%, and plans to burn all collected USTC to reduce market circulation.

Sharp price swings are not only reflected in the rise. According to a report by MarsBit, USTC plunged 50% in 4 hours after doubling in one day, quoting $0.04285066. Such price turmoil highlights the volatile and highly speculative nature of the crypto market.

In the secondary market performance, the USTC price skyrocketed by 300% in 24 hours, while the LUNC price also skyrocketed by 50%. At around $0.067 in USTC, a five-fold increase from $0.01 on Nov. 25. The Cointime article pointed out that USTC once touched 0.05 USDT from 0.02 USDT in 1 hour, an increase of 250%, and remained around 0.065 USDT at the time of writing, a new high in a year.

This sudden price increase may also be related to the strategic behavior of Luna Classic Labs. Web3 World reported that Luna Classic Labs purchased about 25.6 million USTC with a total value of about $500,000 under its Treasury Reserve Policy. Subsequently, the price of USTC rose sharply in 24 hours, increasing by more than 160%, reaching $0.0416 at the quote.

Overall, this series of price fluctuations not only demonstrates the market’s reaction to the Mint Cash airdrop, but also proves once again the high sensitivity and uncertainty of the cryptocurrency market. Investors have expressed great interest in the expectations of the team behind Mint Cash, as well as the Bitcoin collateralization and stablecoin issuance mechanism in the project’s whitepaper. The market’s enthusiasm and high valuation expectations for new projects have combined to drive the USTC price higher, but the long-term stability and practical application of the project remains to be seen.