A new report released by Kraken Intelligence shows that metaverse tokens were one of the two only types of cryptocurrencies that reported a year-on-year increase in prices.
Metaverse and Exchange Tokens Record Growth, Other Cryptos Drop
Metaverse tokens are outperforming every other crypto category despite the current bearish condition, reporting nearly 400% year-on-year gains.
At the top of the gains list, is the Stepn’s GMT (up 746%), Axie Infinity’s AXS (up 511%), The Sandbox’s SAND (up 470%), and Decentraland’s MANA (up 41%), according to the data from CoinGecko and Kraken Intelligence’s May 22 market report. Metaverse tokens are used for paying fees on metaverse, buying land, and participating in blockchain governance.
The next highest category when it comes to year-on-year gains is the exchange tokens. This category reported a 6% increase, while all other categories reported negative price action. For example, Bitcoin was down 13%, and decentralized finance (DeFi) sank even deeper, reporting a loss of 72%.
In 2022, blockchain-based gaming using non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and metaverse platforms remained highly popular. Even with the slumping prices in different markets, usership was consistent, approximately one million per day, according to DappRadar.
Despite the Growth, The Last 30 days and 90 Days Have Seen Negative Returns
The Kraken report further indicated that although May reported flat daily usership, the daily volume of NFTs shot down with a huge margin of -87%.
Each category that was tracked by the Kraken report, from exchange to metaverse tokens, reported negative returns over the last one month and three months. Metaverse tokens were the biggest losers, falling by 42%. They also reported a highest volatility of 173%.
Even with the short-term price action, money is flowing in to help fund the sector. DAppRadar’s Q1 games report indicated that USD 2.5 billion was raised to support metaverse and blockchain games in the first three months of 2022. According to the report, investors were very eager to support games, with 52% of all blockchain activities coming from decentralized applications (DApps).
Layer-1 tokens, such as Cardano’s ADA and Solana’s SOL, led in the losses category, dropping by 43% and 53% in the last 90 and 30 days, respectively. For Ether and Bitcoin, the losses were modest compared to other altcoins.
