Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) creator Vitalik Buterin cautioned his Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) followers against investing in cryptocurrency projects that offer farfetched returns.
What Happened: In a tweet on Wednesday, Buterin said that an “important lesson for the crypto space” was knowing that if a protocol offers a 20% annual percentage rate (APR) for staking cryptocurrency, then it is likely to be a Ponzi.
Also an important lesson for the crypto space. Way too much mental gymnastics goes into defending things that a 12 year old applying a simple unnuanced "if it offers 20% APR it's a Ponzi" rule would correctly reject every time.“We can't lock out baddies with hard power, so we have to guard against them with our soft power,” said Buterin on Twitter.— vitalik.eth (@VitalikButerin) July 27, 2022
Why It Matters: While not all cryptocurrency investors were in agreement, arguing that the yield offered largely depends on how the project itself functions, it is worth noting that Terra’s (CRYPTO: LUNA) Anchor Protocol offered investors a 20% APR.
When the ecosystem was thriving, more than 70% of TerraUSD (CRYPTO: UST) holders had deposited their assets into the DeFi platform. At one point in time, Anchor had $17.15 billion worth of Total Value Locked (TVL) on its platform – something that came crashing down overnight when the algorithmic stablecoin UST lots its peg.
The Terra ecosystem’s collapse had cascading effects through the entire crypto industry. Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), Ethereum and the wider crypto market saw sharp declines following the event, while a number of crypto lenders and funds filed for bankruptcy.
Price Action:According to data from Benzinga Pro, at press time, BTC was trading at $22,765, up 7.32% and ETH was trading at $1,612, up 12% over 24 hours.
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