Terra community seems dead set against Do Kwon’s fork proposal

Quick Take

  • Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon outlined a proposed fork for the Terra blockchain.
  • The Terra community appears to be against the idea, favouring a token burn solution instead.

The majority of the Terra community is against the idea of forking the blockchain after its collapse last week, according to a preliminary poll on the network’s research and governance forum. 

As of 6:45 a.m. ET on Tuesday, 90% of the more than 1,000 votes in the online poll reject a fork, which would create a new, parallel version of the Terra blockchain. The ballot is open to anyone who logs into the Terra forum, whether or not they hold Luna, the network’s governance token.

Last week, the stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) lost its peg to the US dollar, causing a knock on effect that all but obliterated its related token Luna. Due to the way the two interacted, it led to a massive supply increase of Luna and a subsequent price crash to near zero. Amid the wreckage, Terraform Labs CEO Do Kwon made a proposal — and then issued an updated version — that suggested the idea of a fork. 

A fork is the term used for changing a blockchain’s structure. In this case, it would be a very significant change that’s akin to starting from scratch. The updated Terra blockchain would allocate portions of its supply to previous holders of Luna and UST. Most of the tokens would be subject to vesting periods over the next 3-5 years. The proposal put forward a timeline that would, pending a governance vote, see the launch of the new chain by the end of the month.

Only the Luna community doesn’t appear to agree with the suggested path forward.

“There’s no need to wait for the proposal to be published to know what the general sentiment is. This may push for some corrections without wasting days,” stated the pseudonymous author of the poll, which was put forward today. The poll simply asked: “Fork?”

'No one wants a fork'

The majority of comments back up the initial results of the poll with one community member writing, “No one wants a fork.”

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While this poll is not an official governance vote and does not require the holding of Luna tokens to vote, it does give a strong indication which way the community is leaning. That said, it’s possible Terraform Labs and large Luna holders could push through a governance vote without the support of this forum.

The poll does, however, match with other comments across social media by Terra community members and prominent members of the crypto industry. 

 “This won't work. Forking does not give the new fork any value. That's wishful thinking.” Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said on Twitter on Saturday. He added that the Terra community should reduce the supply of Luna by burning coins rather than forking the network at a date in the past, abandoning everyone who tried to save the coin during its downfall.

An informal vote on Twitter today shows a similar outcome to the Terra forum poll. It asks the Luna community whether it wants to fork Terra or burn Luna tokens. It received just over 800 votes, with 93% in favor of a burn. Since this poll was on Twitter and had no “show results” option, it may be less representative of the Luna community than the preliminary poll, which was issued on its official governance forum.

There have been other proposals on the community forum that disagree with the fork proposal and suggest alternatives. Some have criticized the idea to call the original chain (if it survives) Terra Classic. Others have gathered around an idea that’s focused on maintaining the current Terra blockchain but burning tokens to reduce the supply of Luna.

That said, some members of the Luna community are supporting Kwon’s proposal. Staking provider BTC.Secure said on Twitter it supported the launch of the new blockchain and that it was backing Kwon.

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About Author

Tim is the Editor-In-Chief of The Block. Prior to joining The Block, Tim was a news editor at Decrypt. He has earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy from the University of York and studied news journalism at Press Association Training. Follow him on X @Timccopeland.