Terra (LUNA) has emerged as one of the biggest winners in the cryptocurrency market today, after recording a strong price increase with double digits.
This sharp rise coincides with the founder Do Kwon's ruling, scheduled for today, and recent ecosystem updates that have drawn attention to the network.
Why is the price of Terra (LUNA) rising?
Alternative currencies began to rise late last week, with momentum accelerating on Monday after the network upgrade v2.18.0. Major exchanges like Bybit and Binance supported the update, temporarily halting deposits and withdrawals to ensure a smooth transition for users.
This contributed to a notable increase in market sentiment. In fact, the token reached its highest level in 7 months yesterday. The upward trend continued today as well.
Data from BeInCrypto Markets showed that the price of LUNA increased by 55.58% over the past twenty-four hours. At the time of writing, the altcoin was trading at $0.232.
It is worth noting that today’s surge placed Luna as the second largest daily gainer on Coin Gecko. Trading activity also increased, with daily trading volume rising by 192.10% to exceed $700 million.
Aside from the network upgrade, another major catalyst driving increased interest is the ruling against Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon.
Kwon is set to appear before Judge Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York today. The Department of Justice is seeking a 12-year prison sentence.
However, one analyst noted that sentences may differ from requests. Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced to 25 years while prosecutors requested 40-50 years. Alex Mashinsky received a 12-year prison sentence, despite a request for 20 years.
"I won't speculate on the exact length of the sentence he will receive, but it would be naïve to think he is getting 12+ years, especially considering the time served," Kamoul posted.
However, Tokenix expressed concerns about the rising prices of LUNA, warning traders not to consider the surge a true recovery.
"This is not a comeback. This is not fundamental. It is merely community-driven trading pressure. The real Terra ecosystem died in 2022. This new LUNA series has no narrative and no lasting value. It only moves when traders feel the urge to bet on volatility," wrote Tokenix.
As the sentencing date approaches, the community has shown increased interest not only in LUNA but also in Terra Luna Classic (LUNC). The renewed interest has pushed the tokens to the top of the trends list on Coin Gecko today.
BeInCrypto reported last week that the price of LUNC rose by 100% after a journalist wore an old Terra Luna shirt at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai.
So, with the return of both LUNA and LUNC to the spotlight, market participants remain divided on whether the recent surge represents a true recovery or just another volatility-driven spike.
