OpenAI Names Sound Like Crypto Crashes

By now, most crypto enthusiasts have probably had a good chuckle over OpenAI's choice of names for its new ChatGPT 5.6 model tiers. Where previous generations were labeled Pro, Thinking, and Instant, the new lineup goes by Sol, Terra, and Luna.

Anyone who has spent time in crypto will recognize those names immediately. And for me, they are a straight ticket back to 2022. That year, Sol and Luna, or Terra, turned into a brutal disappointment for their holders. SOL crashed more than 90% over the course of the year, from $178.52 down to $9.65, while Luna, the token native to the Terra blockchain, collapsed by more than 99%, from $119 to $0.000001.

I don't think the parallel is entirely coincidental. 2022 was also the year ChatGPT exploded onto the scene, so perhaps Sam Altman and company decided to tip their hat to that moment through the naming of their new model tiers.

That said, the picture does not quite hold together. In most people's minds, Terra and Luna are basically the same thing. And technically, Terra is the name of the blockchain, not the token.

If I were in Sam Altman's shoes, I would swap Terra out for World. Especially given that World, another Altman-linked crypto project, has had its own rough ride, dropping 98% from $11.74 to $0.23. It did not happen in 2022, sure, but bringing World into the mix would have made the whole thing even more ironic.

Well, maybe next time, once Luna, World, and Sol have all climbed back to their former highs.

In the meantime, you can swap any of these crypto assets on rabbit.io at the best rates currently available on the market.