This cryptocurrency just surged past Shiba Inu today

Here's what to know about LUNA's rise above Shiba Inu in the market cap rankings today.

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This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

What happened

A leader in the development of algorithmic stablecoins, Terra (CRYPTO: LUNA) is a token that's gotten a lot of attention of late. As of 10:45 a.m. ET, LUNA has surged 4.5% over the past 24 hours to a market capitalization of $24.8 billion. This week, Terra is up 53%, one of the best-performing large-cap tokens in the market.

Meme token Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB), on the other hand, is down again today. This token's daily decline of 6.8% as of 10:45 a.m. ET brings Shiba Inu's market capitalization down to $23.6 billion, one spot lower in the market capitalization rankings than Terra. This decline also wipes out most of this week's gains for the dog-inspired token.

So what

Terra Luna is a cryptocurrency that's seen a number of catalysts take hold this week, driving this outperformance.

On Tuesday, we learned that Terra investors had voted for an important proposal that would allow for community funding of an overhaul of the network's TrackTerra tax and reporting app. This overhaul would enable holders of LUNA to export their transactions to various tax software programs. This appears to be a positive, given the various reporting requirements the U.S. government is looking to impose on the crypto sector.

This proposal is one of many put forward by Terra to improve its status as a robust global stablecoin ecosystem. Other proposals, such as proposal 143, a move to add liquidity and widespread adoption of LUNA across major blockchain networks, are gaining ground.

Now what

Terra is a large and growing stablecoin ecosystem, and investors appear to like the direction in which Terra's developer team is headed. These tax and liquidity updates provide positive catalysts for investors concerned about an increasingly hawkish regulatory environment in the crypto world.

Additionally, reports that stablecoin trading volumes made up approximately 77% of the crypto market's 24-hour volume suggests this is a sizable market investors have their eye on right now. Terra's positioning as a key player in the stablecoin space is a catalyst that appears to suggest this token could continue to rise in value relative to other cryptocurrencies, at least in the near term. 

This article was originally published on Fool.com. All figures quoted in US dollars unless otherwise stated.

Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.  The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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