GameFi tokens like AXS, SPS, and ILV on the rise
According to a recent DappRadar and BGA Game Report, GameFi tokens are steadily rising in value. This positive price action is pushed by an increase in interest in play-to-earn opportunities on the blockchain. The game NFT market has seen a tremendous $1 billion in sales in August. Some of the most prominent examples include Axie infinity’s AXS token and Splinterlands’ governance token SPS.
Arguably, Axie Infinity started the play-to-earn wave. The game now a centerpiece of both the gaming and the NFT sector. According to the report, Axie Infinity generated over $765 million in sales volumes in August alone. Not only that, it is still the most valuable NFT collection, with over $1.7 billion in sales towards the end of August.
This meteoric rise in popularity had a positive effect on the game’s native governance token AXS. On August 1st, one AXS token was valued at around $39. According to CoinGecko data, by August 31st, the price for one AXS token skyrocketed to about $73. Not to mention that in the first week of September, the steady increase continued, boosting AXS to an all-time high of $93.
Splinterlands and Illuvium
Axie Infinity is not the only game to have seen an influx of players in August. Splinterlands, a trading and strategy card game on the Hive blockchain, has also seen a huge boost in valuation for its governance token SPS.
SplinterShards, or SPS, launched towards the end of July, and has already seen some strong price action. With a list price of only $0.18, SPS hit all-time high of more than $1 and currently sits at around $0.26. This is a huge confidence boost both for the game and its players, as Splinterlands airdrops SPS to players every day for a whole year.
Illuvium, on the other hand, is an even more curious case. The ILV token serves as a governance and staking token on the platform. However, the game itself has not even been launched yet. Despite that, the hype is already building for this Ethereum-based play-to-earn opportunity, clearly visible from the price action ILV is experiencing.
According to CoinGecko data, on August 1st, the price for one ILV token was around $250. However, ILV had almost doubled in price towards the end of the month, reaching $496. This is a tremendous success for a game-related token that has not seen its use in the game itself. Illuvium is steadily attracting more users to its staking pools in anticipation of the game release. According to the recent DappRadar and Blockchain Game Association report, Illuvium attracted more than 7,100 unique wallets in August, a 69.33% increase month-over-month.
GameFi and the Metaverse
GameFi, which represents the combination of games and decentralized finance, is rising in popularity. Play-to-earn as a gaming mechanic has revolutionized the sector and influenced the lives of thousands of people, especially with games like Axie Infinity.
An important development going hand in hand with the rise of the GameFi sector are virtual worlds, or the metaverse. Platforms like Decentraland and The Sandbox, where people can interact with each other and host events, have also seen a huge increase in user activity. Virtual worlds are just as new as play-to-earn blockchain opportunities; however, interest in them does not falter. MANA and SAND, the governance tokens for Decentraland and the Sandbox, have also seen nice bounces in valuation.
SAND, for example, saw its all-time high on August 30th. While at the beginning of the month one SAND token stood at $0.6, on August 30th, this price was double at $1.19. The same goes for Decentraland’s native token MANA. On August 1st, one MANA token was worth $0.73. Thirty days later, the same token was going for around $1.
GameFi and the metaverse are tightly interconnected. Each of the games we mentioned above is a fantasy world of its own. However, each of them is part of the metaverse. Additionally, both of these sectors of the blockchain industry are still infants in their development. Positive trends we see at the moment are only the beginning.
DappRadar will continue following the development of both GameFi and virtual worlds in the metaverse. If you are curious to get your hands on some SAND, MANA, or ILV, try out the new DappRadar Token Swap service.
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