Gaming Tokens Usher In Altcoin Season
Read the full article by Cointelegraph Consulting here
Gaming tokens are preceding an altcoin season with substantial rallies as the DeFi sector posts losses against Bitcoin.
Key Points:
Bitcoin has been consolidating in between 55 and 60k since hitting it’s new all time high in early November, now gaming tokens have stolen the show.
Such coins, including those under the metaverse sphere like Decentraland’s MANA and Illuvium’s ILV, gained momentum after Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, suggesting that gaming tokens could be preceding a new altcoin season. SandBox’s native token $SAND is up over 340% this month alone and Gala which is also very similar is up over 300% this month.
Ethereum has also surged to yearly highs against Bitcoin, now is pushing towards territory it has not seen since 2018.
ETH/BTC chart (12/1/21)
However, the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization had mixed results against BTC over the past month, and it is the leading tokens in the gaming sector that outclassed Bitcoin. SAND, of course, has been the frontrunner since October, but Axie Infinity Shards (AXS), Enjin Coin (ENJ), ILV and Ultra’s UOS had better gains compared with Bitcoin throughout November.
An investment in ILV back in September would be up by more than threefold and one in SAND by at least sevenfold. Overall, most of the tokens in the gaming sectors have appreciated by more than 100% against Bitcoin in the last month.
Attracting investments
As the popularity of gaming tokens continues to rise, more investments get funneled into the space. In 2021, about $3.7 billion has been raised by blockchain companies involved in gaming, a 414% increase from 2020, per BlockchainGamerBiz.
Forte, the most notable among these, secured $725 million in a Series B funding round led by Sea Capital and Kora Management. Forte plans to expand its product offerings and services and attract more game publishers onto its blockchain gaming platform. Fantasy soccer game Sorare also bagged a whopping $680 million back in September, which boosted its valuation to $1.2 billion.
The gaming sector of the broader cryptocurrency market is still relatively small. The top gaming tokens only boast about a $21 billion market cap — which is inconsequential compared with Bitcoin. This means that sector dominance is still there for the taking, as the market can change rapidly, especially since games, by design, may come and go. The argument, however, is whether the play-to-earn model can keep everyone interested.
However, Sky Mavis has also entered the Metaverse, as it recently sold virtual land for 550 Ether (ETH), or $2.3 million. It also plans to have developers create other games to keep things interesting for users, hoping to attract players drawn in by playing the game rather than the financial aspect. But whether this could boost the price of SLP in the future remains to be seen.
The gaming industry appears to have more advantages when merged with blockchain. If the current altcoin season seeps into 2022 with new developments, particularly the Metaverse, market dominance could quickly shift between tokens that further advance in the space.