What I know about cryptocurrency can be inscribed on a head of pin with a jackhammer.  But I know it’s a thing; I know it’s a big thing and getting bigger.  So, these past few weeks I have been reading with interest (interest, to be clear in this context, is the emotion one experiences watching a NASCAR pileup, whilst not being in one of the cars) the breathtaking collapse of Terra’s stablecoin. Having previously been entirely bereft of any knowledge of the topic, I read with considerable interest that the Terra coin was pegged to the dollar and backed by “algorithms.”  Algorithms?  The Terra peg was protected, theoretically (let’s emphasize that theoretical part) by allowing Terra’s owners to “burn” coins and buy another cryptocurrency which was designed not as something pegged to the dollar but as a repository of value which would rise and fall on market sentiment (backed by those marvelous algorithms again).  A shock absorber to protect the peg.  The companion cryptocurrency in this case was called Luna.  As Terra lost its peg, you would burn Terra and buy Luna.  And if Luna went down, you would burn Luna and buy Terra.  Apparently, this all worked as long as everyone firmly believed it worked.  Now, apparently, they don’t and it doesn’t.  Terra tanked to fractions of pennies on the dollar, as did Luna.  How’s that for a hedge?  Ouch!
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