Terra Ecosystem — Simple Fiat On & Offramps

4 min readJul 18, 2021

Terra.money is a growing blockchain ecosystem that features an algorithmic stablecoin ($UST) paired with the $LUNA token to absorb volatility. The system has developed to include Anchor savings (~20% APY), synthetic stocks through Mirror Protocol, lossless investments through Pylon Gateway, and a multitude of other protocols soon to be released.

If all of that sounds like impenetrable jargon — understood. One of the best ways to start to understand how these protocols work and the opportunities involved is to get a limited amount of funds into the system. (see disclaimer below). For a newcomer, jumping into participating in this blockchain can be challenging. If you are not familiar with Kucoin, Binance, and other exchanges, limit/market orders, etc., figuring out how to get your first funds into the system can be confusing.

Below are 3 simple methods for those in the US.

You will need a Terra Station Wallet to hold funds — setting that up is beyond the scope of this article. Note also that at each step of the process, fees are typically paid — amounts may vary.

## 1: Crypto.com

Buy Luna > Transfer to Terra Station

Crypto.com (and the crypto.com app) allow one to buy $LUNA using USD deposited into their Fiat Wallet, an existing Crypto Wallet, or credit/debit card.

For a credit card purchase, the typical Fee is 2.99%, but this is waived for the first 30 days of use (as of the time of writing). (Note that your individual credit card or debit card issuer may have their own maximum limits on cryptocurrency purchases.)

Once purchased, $LUNA can be transferred (withdrawn) directly to one’s Terra Station Wallet — this process can take approximately 10 minutes, and Crypto.com will email when the process is complete. Fees charged by Crypto.com for this transfer are minimal (usually under a dollar), as is the case throughout much of the Terra blockchain.

Risks — Crypto.com allows you to set up a whitelisted Wallet address — this will be your Terra Station address. Good practice is always to send a small amount and making sure it processes correctly, before sending any larger amount. Better to pay (small) fees twice for the security of knowing that the system transfers funds as intended.

Offramp — Send Luna back to Crypto.com and convert to USD in their Fiat Wallet.

##2: Oxis

Purchase USDC > Convert to UST > Send to Terra Station.

Oxis.com allows one to buy USDC, another stablecoin on the Ethereum network. Their payment processor (Moonpay) charges a small percentage fee on this purchase.

USDC can then be converted to UST in Oxis. This conversion also requires a fee, but puts these funds on the Terra blockchain, and one can then send them to Terra Station.

Risks —When using Oxis, you may come across some Spanish language interface elements, FAQs and support emails, which can be confusing — Oxis is the english language version of a spanish system: monedero.com. Moonpay is also a third-party payment processor, not a part of the Oxis system. Individual US bank accounts and credit cards may have their own limitations on this kind of payment processor not based in the US.

## 3: Coinbase

Purchase MIR > send to Metamask > Bridge to Terra Station.

Coinbase allows purchase of Mirror ($MIR) from a linked bank account. Fees on Coinbase tend to be higher than on other systems, and are the higher of a minimum flat fee or variable percentage fee dependent on the amount of the transaction. These can be up to 3 or 4%.

This token is on the Ethereum blockchain, not the Terra blockchain, so needs to be sent to a MetaMask wallet.

These can then be bridged to Terra Station using bridge.terra.money.

This method likely involves the most fees, as they are paid to purchase on Coinbase, to send from Coinbase, and in Metamask when bridging to Terra.

Risks — Coinbase requires funds to clear before sending out of their system, which can take several days. If your goal is usable $UST or $LUNA, then there will also be the (minimal) fees to convert $MIR within Terra Station.

There is a wealth of info available on Terra — some good sources:

Enjoy the journey!

Disclaimer: All info above is for informational and educational purposes only and is not intended to be financial, tax, legal, or any other kind of advice. Nothing above is an inducement to make a particular investment or follow a particular strategy. Anything you invest in is at your own risk; do your own research and consult with professionals.