Terra Nansen Guide

Terra is a layer 1 blockchain that supports a native stablecoin (UST) in an attempt to become a peer-to-peer electronic cash system. It has recently made headlines as The Luna Foundation Guard, a project run by Terra founder, Do Kwon, announced plans to obtain $10bn in BTC, alongside $200m in Avalanche tokens to bolster their reserves.

Step 1: Establishing the Strength of the Layer 1 Chain

(1) Transaction Volumes Compared to Ethereum

Transaction volumes can be used as an indication of how much activity there is on a chain and therefore, as a proxy for adoption. Nansen allows us to compare the number of transactions on Ethereum to those on Terra:

Nansen.ai: 13/04/2022 – Transactions on Ethereum vs Terra

• Ethereum’s transaction volume has been consistently higher since October 2021.
• Terra’s transaction volume has been slowly increasing over this time period and is currently at an all time high.

(2) Contract Deployment

Whilst transaction volumes look at the number of users within an ecosystem, we can also measure developer activity through smart contract deployment. A smart contract is a computer program that executes when a pre-defined trigger occurs and are used to build decentralized protocols. This measure therefore can foreshadow new developments.

Nansen.ai: 14/04/2022 – Contract Deployment on Terra

• Until March 2022, the ratio of smart contract deployments on Terra vs Ethereum was less than 2% showing significantly less activity.
• Developer activity on Terra has since spiked to an all time high of an 8% ratio.

Now we have established that Terra is displaying an increasing level of adoption, we can explore the ecosystem itself.

Step 2: Diving Deep into Opportunities within Terra

Most Used Protocols over 7 days

Nansen.ai: 14/04/2022 – Most Used Protocols on Terra by Number of Users

• Anchor protocol: is a lending protocol that has made headlines by offering a consistent 19.5% yield on the UST stablecoin. This is the largest protocol by total value locked on Terra.
• Astroport: is the largest dex on Terra with over $1.52bn total value locked.
• TerraSwap: is another dex within the Terra ecosystem. It also supports smart contract functionality which allows for automatic settlements.

✅ Tip: We can use Nansen to explore the further opportunities in the Terra ecosystem, diving into

Conclusion

Whilst terra has displayed a good level of adoption for some time, especially in the yield farming community through use of lending protocol, Anchor, recent news of large Bitcoin buys alongside an influx of developer activity indicates it is an ecosystem worth watching.