Binance Skips November LUNC Burn for First Time Since 2023

Binance did not burn Luna Classic (LUNC) tokens on November 1, the first month it has skipped the routine batch since the program started in 2023, Crypto Briefing reported. By November 3, community burn trackers had logged no transaction matching the expected burn, and the exchange had said nothing about whether the effort is paused, cancelled or merely late.

Decrypt also reported the missed burn and said Binance was still recovering from a record $6.3 billion hack that the FBI has attributed to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. Binance did not respond to Decrypt’s request for comment.

Key facts

• The most recent confirmed burn arrived on October 1 and removed approximately 334.87 million LUNC, drawn from the prior month’s trading fees (Crypto Briefing).
• Over the life of the program, Binance accounts for roughly 88 to 90 billion of the tokens burned, per Crypto Briefing.
• Across all sources, total LUNC burned stood at around 462.9 billion as of early November; circulating supply is estimated at 5.52 to 5.53 trillion tokens (Crypto Briefing).
• Decrypt reports LUNC fell 7.9% over the past week to $0.0000417 and is down 99.99% from its all-time high of $119.18.
• Decrypt said the exchange began its monthly burns in March 2023 after the Terra Classic community scrapped a re-mint plan that had led Binance to withhold contributions in late 2022.

How the burn is meant to work

Binance takes fees from LUNC trading pairs, buys the token with the proceeds and sends it to an address no one can spend from. That process ran on the first of each month, and October’s transaction was the last one trackers recorded.

One well-known community member, Pedro, known as Vegas, told Decrypt that Binance is carrying out security maintenance after the hack and relocating LUNC to a safer wallet before resuming. Vegas has long said he is in direct contact with the exchange about LUNC, though that has not been verified. Crypto Briefing reported the wallet explanation as the claim of one person rather than an official update.

Scale of the gap

A single monthly batch of a few hundred million tokens is small against a supply measured in trillions. Crypto Briefing noted that October’s burn was a fraction of one percent of circulating supply, and market reaction has been muted.

The concern is about signals. Dawid Skinder, a brand and user experience contributor for Terra Classic, told Decrypt the burn is an important sign of support, and suggested the gap may be an operational issue after the biggest hack on record. Skinder said Terra Classic does not need another problem, and separately pointed to weaknesses the project must fix, including thin product offerings, marketing, a proper audit and quantum-attack defenses.

Why it matters

Binance is one of the largest outside sources of LUNC supply reduction, and its monthly contribution gave holders a dependable channel they did not have to fund themselves. A permanent end to the program would push more of that burden onto the on-chain transaction tax and voluntary community burns. Binance withheld burns once before, in late 2022, after the community voted to re-mint tokens for a development fund, and then halved its share of fees to 50% before resuming.

What to watch

A burn transaction from wallets linked to Binance would settle most of the current worry, and an official statement would show whether a December batch is scheduled. Either would be more conclusive than the block explorers and theories holders are relying on now.

This article is not financial advice.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment, financial or trading advice. Cryptocurrency prices are highly volatile. Always do your own research.

Sources: Crypto Briefing, Decrypt