NFT & Blockchain Gaming Weekly (19/05/2023)

Pepe-themed ‘Bitcoin Frogs’ NFTs gain popularity amid Ordinals hype. Epic Games and LEGO Group collaborate to build metaverse. Ubisoft is creating an NFT collection for Assassin’s Creed.

Chart of the Week

Bitcoin NFTs have gained considerable popularity and traction since the launch of the Ordinals protocol, which has made it possible to mint NFTs directly on the Bitcoin blockchain. At the time of writing, the number of Ordinals inscriptions reached 7.65 million.

Readers may check out our new report, Bitcoin’s Expanding Ecosystem: Layer-2, DeFi, NFT.

New Project Spotlight

NFT Collectibles

[COMING SOON] Crypto.com is launching ‘Crypto.com Expedition Gear’ backpack NFTs via an airdrop and sale. One random mystery package will be airdropped for every ‘Crypto.com Land – The First Frontier’ NFT owned. Meanwhile, ‘Loaded Lions’ and ‘Cyber Cubs’ NFT holders will be eligible for the Early Access sale.

[COMING SOON] ‘aelfen’ is a collection by 3D artist Farruk Murad. This drop explores the harmony between the ælfen (forest dwellers) and nature. The collection goes live on Crypto.com NFT on 26 May.

Blockchain Games

[COMING SOON] D.G.Pals is releasing a free-to-play game, Merge Defence, where players can assemble a team of four friends to defend Panterra against waves of mythical rogues. The game will be available on 20 May.

[LIVE] Croskull launched its Ordinals NFT collection, ‘bitCroSkull’, on 18 May. The bitCroSkulls will be available for minting in two whitelist stages, followed by a public mint.

NFT Metrics

The following table shows select top collections (by weekly sales volume on each platform) and a sample of their art:

Platform	Collection	Sales Volume (USD)	Floor Price (USD)	Sample
OpenSea	Mutant Ape Yacht Club	$21,588,000 (-4%)	$18,100
OpenSea	Bored Ape Yacht Club	$12,744,000 (-11%)	$86,400
Crypto.com NFT	Crypto.com Land – The First Frontier	$67,500 (+19%)	$70
Crypto.com NFT	Loaded Lions	$52,200 (-50%)	$1,400
Minted	VVS Miner Mole	$19,300 (+28%)	$170
Minted	Mutant Aiko Beanz	$7,100 (+21%)	$10

Blockchain Game Metrics

The following table shows select top games by weekly Unique Active Wallets (UAW):

Game	Blockchain(s)	UAW	Volume	Logo
Splinterlands	Hive, WAX	94K (+22%)	$3K
Iskra	Klaytn, Ethereum	83K (+35%)	$37K
Planet IX	Polygon	46K (+2%)	$369K
Axie Infinity	Ronin, Ethereum	32K (+1%)	$10.4M
SecondLive	BNB Chain	25K (-16%)	$0.5K

Gaming Token Performance

The total market cap for gaming tokens now stands at US$11.25 billion, up +7% from last week.

News Highlights

• The Pepe-themed ‘Bitcoin Frogs’ have become one of the most traded NFTs amid the Bitcoin Ordinals hype, temporarily surpassing prominent collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club. The collection features 10,000 unique frog collectibles minted directly on the Bitcoin blockchain and has generated more than US$2 million in trading volume from nearly 700 transactions.
• Gaming giant Epic Games and LEGO Group are collaborating to build a fun and family-friendly metaverse that is enjoyable and safe for all ages. Epic Games recently also announced a $2 billion round of funding to advance the company’s vision to build and support the growth of the metaverse.
• Video game publisher Ubisoft is partnering with Reality Labs to create a limited-edition NFT collection for the popular game Assassin’s Creed. Collectors will be able to purchase custom ‘Assassin’s Creed Smart Collectibles’, as well as order a 3D-printed version of their NFTs encased in a clear cube.
• The Axie Infinity game is set to launch on the Apple App Store in key markets across Latin America and Asia. The game’s developer, Sky Mavis, is also launching Mavis Market, a curated NFT marketplace powered by the company’s Ronin blockchain.

Recent Research Reports

Monthly Research Roundup (April 2023): In this issue, we feature trending market insights, and our latest research reports take a closer look into Bitcoin’s expanding ecosystem, specifically Layer 2s, DeFi, and NFTs.	Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [April 2023]: Asset classes were generally flat in April, with cryptocurrency outperforming other assets. The US Federal Reserve could be on the cusp of ending its interest rate hike cycle.	Bitcoin’s Expanding Ecosystem: Layer-2, DeFi, NFT: The landscape of the latest projects building on top of Bitcoin is expanding beyond payments. It now includes Layer-2 scaling solutions and key application categories like DeFi and NFTs.

Latest University Articles

What Is the BRC-20 Token Standard for Bitcoin?: Learn about the BRC-20 token standard for the Bitcoin blockchain and the tokens that have been minted on it so far.	What Are ERC-20 Tokens? All About Ethereum’s Most Important Token Standard]: ERC-20 is a token standard for fungible tokens on Ethereum. Learn what it is and how cryptocurrencies can be minted with it.	Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic — What Is the Difference?: They may share the name, but Ethereum and Ethereum Classic are different in many ways. Here’s a comparison of both chains

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Authors

Research and Insights Team

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