The Reddit post did not mince words.
"Lost money on luna and ust," it read. "what can I do.help me please."
'A Nightmare'
The commenter said that "I put some of my money on a crypto protocol called anchor for a safe 20% annual return, and the rest in luna, now my money is a fraction of what it used to be. I don't think ill have enough to pay for next semester let alone finish school."
The post was one of many similar social media claims of loss and ruin from investors who said they took serious financial hits following the collapse of UST and its sister coin Luna.
The price of Luna collapsed this week. The cryptocurrency was worth $0.00032321, according to CoinGecko, as of time of writing. Its market value fell from over $41 billion to $1.936 billion. In other words, Luna investors have lost almost everything.
This is also the case for investors in UST, the sister token of Luna with which the crypto operated in tandem. UST has lost its peg to the dollar and is currently worth $0.149973. Its market value fell from $18.770 billion on May 9 to $1.672 billion.
Both coins saw the collapse last weekend of the algorithmic system that UST's dollar peg is backed by, reducing supply, and vice versa, instead of reserves made up of traditional assets like cash.
"My husband and I sold our house and had it on Luna I am (still) trying to digest if this is happening or just nightmare," one person said in a tweet that included several weeping emojis.
One person responded by saying "you honestly got what you deserved for your greed."
"Man I was about to open my first bakery, had my last 30k on Luna," one commenter said. "Hoping I would be able to make some money on it, and buy the best equipment, now the bakery will have to wait for another 2-3 years."
'Suicide in A Chair'
"I'm lost, about to commit suicide in a chair," another person said on Reddit. "I lost my life savings in the investments of (LUNA UST) the worst thing is that 3 weeks ago I proposed to my girlfriend. She doesn't know anything, I lost 62 thousand dollars. I'm here I don't know what to do."
One Reddit commenter posted a lengthy statement about his Luna losses, which included his savings and his marriage.
"In a matter of 24 hours, I literally lost everything I had worked so hard for in the past few years," the person said.
Social media can be a cruel place and one Twitter user complained about all the harsh comments.
"Aside from losing all my money in #LUNA, this situation has shown me how many sh--ty people there are in the world," the person said. "The amount of cruelty/ lack of empathy for people who have lost everything is sickening. It’s truly disheartening. Now is not the time for “I told you so”
"Suck it up, (be) a man," one response read.
"Don't go b-lls deep into crypto anymore you dumbasses," another Reddit poster said. "Buffett made $100b with stocks not internet coin."
'I Want Revenge'
One Redditt poster who claimed to have "lost my entire life savings of over $200,000" wanted payback.
"I will not accept this a ‘start over’," the person said. "I want revenge...F-ck accepting this as fate! We all need to rise up and take out those who have stolen from us."
There was much talk about people killing themselves over their UST and Luna losses, although at least one report of "8 confirmed suicides" had been apparently debunked.
Many posters expressed concern about the personal safety of troubled investors and one sub-Reddit forum included links to helplines around the world.
"Please do not kill yourselves," one person tweeted. "I know it feels like the world is ending and you're at rock bottom if you lost all your money from Luna/UST and maybe you even lost some of your friends or families money, investors, whatever. I don't know who has to see this but it will be okay."
"Your life is worth more than money," a Reddit poster said. "The universe has a way of working things out to bless 3-fold what u lost. Just hang in there. It will work out. You are loved, valued, and have a purpose in this life! Never forget that!!!!."
Several commenters said that it was time for a new beginning.
"Anyone here has the ability to rebuild, so long as we have our health," one person said. "Draw the line in the sand and start over."
