Terra (LUNA) has become one of the biggest winners in the cryptocurrency market today, registering a strong double-digit price increase.
This rally coincides with the sentencing of founder Do Kwon, scheduled for today, and with recent updates from the ecosystem that have drawn attention to the network.
Why is the price of the Terra (LUNA) token rising?
The altcoin started to rise at the end of last week, and the momentum increased on Monday following the network update v2.18.0. Major exchanges like Bybit and Binance supported the update, temporarily suspending deposits and withdrawals to ensure a smooth transition for users.
This helped to notably improve market sentiment. In fact, the token reached a seven-month high yesterday. The upward trend continues today as well.
BeInCrypto Markets data shows that the price of LUNA has increased by 55.58% in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, the altcoin was trading at 0.232 dollars.
It is important to mention that today's increase made LUNA the second largest daily winner on CoinGecko. Trading activity also increased, with daily volume rising by 192.10% and exceeding 700 million dollars.
In addition to the network upgrade, another important factor that draws attention is the sentencing of Terraform Labs founder Do Kwon.
Kwon will appear today before Judge Engelmayer in the Southern District of New York. The Department of Justice is seeking a 12-year prison sentence.
However, an analyst pointed out that the final sentence may be different from what was requested. Sam Bankman-Fried received 25 years while prosecutors had asked for 40-50 years. Alex Mashinsky received 12 years in prison despite a request for 20 years.
"I am not going to speculate on the exact time they will receive, but it would be naive to think they will be given more than 12 years, especially considering the time they have already served," Camol posted on X.
Despite this, Toknex has expressed concern about the rise in LUNA's price, warning traders not to view this increase as a real recovery.
"This is not a recovery. These are not fundamentals. It is just trading pressure driven by the community. The real Terra ecosystem died in 2022. This new LUNA has no narrative or lasting value. It only moves when traders want to bet on volatility," Toknex wrote on X.
As the sentencing approaches, the community has shown more interest not only in LUNA but also in Terra Luna Classic (LUNC). BeInCrypto reported last week that the price of LUNC skyrocketed 100% after a journalist wore a vintage Terra Luna shirt at the Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai.
Thus, while both LUNA and LUNC are back in the spotlight, market participants remain divided on whether this latest increase represents genuine revitalization or simply another break driven by volatility.
