Mirror Protocol(MIR)

Launched by Terraform Labs (TFL) in December 2020, Mirror Protocol is a DeFi (Decentralized Finance) protocol powered by smart contracts deployed on the Terra blockchain. It facilitates the easy creation of synthetic assets referred to as mAssets (Mirrored Assets), which mimic the price action of their corresponding assets in the real-world. This gives traders located anywhere in the world seamless access to an asset’s price action, without having to actually own or transact it. Furthermore, traders can obtain instant fractional ownership of real-world assets, and trade them globally and freely, in a censorship-resistant environment, just like any other cryptocurrency.

mAssets created using Mirror Protocol are meant to be portable and composable across multiple blockchains, including BNB Smart Chain, Ethereum and Terra. Mirror Protocol’s development and roadmap is overseen by its community, with its markets maintained by the protocol’s users, through MIR incentives. The protocol has been continuously evolving owing to new ideas generated and implemented through its democratic governance.

MIR price

While MIR price action is greatly influenced by the broader crypto market sentiment, it’s also affected by the market outlook for its parent blockchain, Terra, as well as crypto coins belonging to the Terra ecosystem. 

MIR coin traded well under $2 after its launch in December 2020, and continued that way until late January 2021, when it broke out of $2 resistance for the first time. Around this time, the wider crypto market was preparing for a major bull run. An upswing followed, which catapulted MIR price to an all-time high of $12.90 on Apr 10, 2021. MIR’s fully diluted valuation stood at close to $4.8 billion that day.

A corrective phase followed, with Mirror protocol price retracing to a little over $3 by late May 2021, and further down to $2.5 in late July that year. Unlike other cryptocurrencies which registered noteworthy highs during 2021’s second bull run in November that year, MIR coin continued its lean phase, trading mostly in the vicinity of $3. It closed the year 2021 at a valuation of a little under $2.5. The turn of the year didn’t help MIR coin, as it maintained its downward trend, plummeting under $1 in late February 2022. However, the death blow came post the stablecoin UST’s crash in May 2022, which sent MIR coin’s price tumbling down to an all-time low of $0.19, on May 13, 2022.

How MIR works

Mirror Protocol’s mAssets are minted in a decentralized environment, with the network’s users opening a position (CDP – Collateralized Debt Position) and depositing a certain amount of collateral in return. Mirror Protocol makes sure that the deposited collateral is always sufficient for covering the concerned mAsset, while also managing the mAsset markets by listing them against UST (TerraClassic USD) on TerraSwap.

Price oracles play a crucial role in the minting of mAssets. They help ascertain the exact amount of collateral needed for minting an mAsset, and also continuously check if there’s sufficient collateral backing the concerned mAsset or not, at any given point of time. 

MIR, the governance token of Mirror Protocol, must be deposited/staked by the users in order to obtain the right to float and vote on governance proposals. These MIR stakers are rewarded with MIR fees paid by the users who withdraw collateral from their CDP positions. The token is also used to incentivize Mirror LP token stakers.

Having been built on Terra blockchain, Mirror Protocol inherits all of Terra’s security features, including its Proof-of-Stake consensus mechanism.

MIR news, updates and highlights

In January 2021, Terraform Labs raised $25 million from some big names, including Coinbase Ventures, Pantera Capital, Galaxy Digital and others. TFL’s co-founder Do Kwon stated that they’d use the funds for developing Mirror Protocol’s infrastructure for synthetic assets, as well for their other DeFi products.

In more recent MIR news, the coin’s price faced a major setback post the crash of stablecoin TerraUSD (UST), as well as LUNA, the native coin of Mirror Protocol’s parent blockchain. On May 7, 2022, UST, the third-largest stablecoin at one time (by market cap), started wobbling and lost its $1 peg, trading at a mere $0.35 by May 9. LUNA, the Terra blockchain’s native coin which was meant to stabilize the UST price, also lost significant ground, and plummeted down from $80 to a few cents by May 12. This development sent MIR price crashing to an all-time low of $0.19 on May 13, 2022.

Frequently asked questions about MIR

• Can I stake MIR cryptocurrency?

Yes, you can stake MIR tokens to earn staking rewards as well as governance rights for Mirror Protocol.

• Which are the best wallets for MIR?

Some of the top MIR wallets include Mirror Wallet, MetaMask, Terra Station and Ledger. 

• What can I do with MIR?

You can stake your MIR tokens to earn staking rewards and participate in Mirror Protocol’s governance. MIR can also be traded against other coins on established crypto exchanges.

• How do I purchase MIR?

The ideal way to buy MIR is from well-known crypto exchanges, using popular trading pairs like MIR/USDT, MIR/XRP, MIR/ETH, MIR/BTC and others.