A Luna-tic Stablecoin Crash

Harald Uhlig · NBER Working Paper 30256 unverified · NBER

Post-mortem of the May 2022 Terra/UST algorithmic-stablecoin collapse.

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Relevance to stablecoin measurement

Case evidence for excluding algorithmic designs from the par-pegged headline; peg-risk coverage.

Key findings

Models the UST depeg as a run driven by loss of confidence rather than purely mechanical failure.
Highlights the fragility of algorithmic stablecoins lacking hard collateral.

Indexed under

Peg Stability & Runs Design & Economics

Related Stablecoin Beat data

Peg Stability Yield-Bearing

Cite this

Harald Uhlig (2022). A Luna-tic Stablecoin Crash NBER Working Paper 30256.

BibTeX

@techreport{uhlig2022lunaticstablecoincrash,
  title = {A Luna-tic Stablecoin Crash},
  author = {Harald Uhlig},
  year = {2022},
  institution = {NBER},
  howpublished = {NBER Working Paper 30256},
  url = {https://www.nber.org/papers/w30256},
  note = {Indexed by Stablecoin Beat},
}

Last verified 2026-07-02. 1 of the 10 fields shown is recorded but not yet verified and is marked below; 10 further tracked fields are not recorded.

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