Cryptocurrency earning games surpass Defi in popularity.
Cryptocurrency earning games surpass Defi in popularity.
Play-to-earn (or P2E, "play-to-win") games are becoming a sensation for decentralized applications. In November, these video games, which allow you to win various tokens or cryptocurrencies, reached an all-time high of more than 1.2 million users connected simultaneously. The number of users in P2E surpasses those in decentralized finance (DeFi).
According to an analysis by Bloomberg, based on the data it provides, DappRadarabout 50% of wallets connected to some decentralized application corresponded to a P2E game, while the number of users connected to Defi platforms declined by 45% last month. The most popular DeFi in the top 10, according to DappRadardata, moves an average of 78 thousand users per day. PancakeSwapThe first place Defi platform, in the first place, has on average 500 thousand users, while, in second place, Katana, only moves 38 thousand (less than 10% of PancakeSwap's volume).
In comparison, the top 10 P2E exchanges move 106,000 users per day, on average. And it should be noted that many decentralized exchanges - such as the two mentioned above - may owe part of their growth to the use made of them by the gaming community. Katana, in particular, was launched by the developers of Axie Infinity. Pedro Herrera, an analyst at DappRadar, says: "We see around 80 to 100 million game transactions per day. He says this about the volumes that P2E games are currently mobilizing.
Although play-to-earn games are the most used by users, the most significant amount of money is still concentrated in DeFi, considering exchanges, investment platforms, lending platforms, etc. According to data from DappRadar, Defi currently has more than USD 1.4 billion blocked, moving more than USD 1.7 billion daily, a reasonably high volume compared to the USD 9.4 million driven by P2E.
Axie Infinity's popularity and P2E growth
In this growth of games to earn cryptocurrencies, AxieInfinity is crowned with the most popular. With an average of more than 100,000 users connected daily, this game has become one of the most successful in the entire ecosystem. According to a recent analysis conducted by the CryptoNews portal, Axie Infinity stands as the NFT platform with the highest market value surpassing the USD 3 billion mark. Axie moves on average USD 100 million in value in daily market volumes, taking the top spot on the list.
Axie Infinity has been, according to the data, the most popular game of play-to-earn fever. This popularity is reflected in the fact that entire communities use this game as their source of income. One Venezuelan politician even used it as part of his election campaign.
The growing popularity of blockchain-based games is reflected in the transactions they mobilize.
Metaverses and nonfungible tokens (NFT) continue to be the talk of the town, mainly because of the prices that the virtual properties in them have reached. Recently, in the popular video game Axie Infinity, a parcel of virtual land was sold for 550 ETH, representing about USD 2,300,000 at the current market price, according to the CryptoNews price index.
The purchase was made by the video game user named Wen Land to another user identified as ArcaChemist, in the AxieInfinityown marketplace. They sold property stands out for being located in the center of the map of Lunacia, the name given to the place where the Axis live. There are several different types of land: Luna's Landing, Genesis, Savannah, Forest, Arctic, and Mystic. The parcel of virtual land traded corresponds to the area called Genesis, an area described in the game as "extremely rare," which makes its price high.
It's worth remembering that, apart from dueling Axis and completing quests to generate money, some different items and lands can be bought and sold inside or outside the game. "Landowners can upgrade and customize their land to house shops, chimera summoning beacons, produce resources, house Non-Playable Character (NPC), a character controlled by the game director, and even act as access points for dungeons," they say on the game's website.
Decentraland sold the largest tract of virtual land.
Apart from the plot in Axie Infinity that fetched a record price, in the Ethereum-based entertainment metaverse Decentraland, the largest tract of virtual land was sold. Last November 23, a virtual land was also sold for 618,000 MANA, Decentraland's native token (USD 2.8 million). It is considered the most significant land acquisition to date. The company behind the acquisition is Tokens.com Corp, a publicly-traded company that owns an inventory of cryptocurrencies based on decentralized finance (Defi) and NFT.
"Each parcel purchased in this transaction equals 52.5 square feet, making the acquisition equivalent to 6,090 square feet of land," Tokens.com reported. The parcel is located in the heart of the Fashion Street district, and fashion shows and commerce related to the digital fashion industry will take place there. "Fashion is the next massive area of growth in the metaverse (...), so it's timely, and very exciting, that such a decisive commitment has been made with this land purchase in Decentraland," said Sam Hamilton director of content at the Decentraland Foundation.
The rise of metaverses
The boom of virtual worlds rebounded after the recent announcement by Facebook. It assured that it would build a computing platform based on the concept of the metaverse, a fact reported by CryptoNews. Everything seems to indicate that the fever for metaverse has just started, and companies are looking to gain space in this area. However, this is not something new for Decentraland, as it has been exploring that world since 2017, and it differs from others because it has a higher degree of decentralization.