NFT & Blockchain Gaming Weekly (21/07/2023)

Cronos announces a new partnership with Ubisoft. OpenSea launches peer-to-peer NFT swap function, ‘Deals’. Gucci partners with auction house Christie’s for an NFT sale.

Chart of the Week

r/FortNiteBR Bricks (BRICK) is the community token of the r/FortNiteBR subreddit dedicated to Fortnite Battle Royale by Epic Games, a popular free-to-play title. Recently, BRICK experienced a surge in popularity, which was likely driven by an update to Reddit’s Terms of Use permitting the trading of tokenised Community Points.

Read our university article to learn more about Reddit’s MOON and BRICK tokens and their use cases: What Are Reddit’s MOON and BRICK Tokens?

New Project Spotlight

NFT Collectibles

[COMING SOON] ‘Sacred Place’ is a project by EASThug and 64ksana, an art collective and alternative electronic band, respectively. Dropping on 24 July on Crypto.com NFT, it reimagines spirituality in unexpected ways.

[COMING SOON] ‘Action Bears Club – Koala Bears on Tour’ is a collection by Stand For Trees, a nonprofit that tackles climate change at its core by stopping the destruction of trees. This drop features koalas helping to spread awareness about the importance of protecting our environment. The collection goes live on Crypto.com NFT on 26 July.

Blockchain Games

[LIVE] Leading video games publisher Ubisoft has joined the Cronos ecosystem as a network validator. Cronos is set to benefit significantly by leveraging the expertise of Ubisoft’s Strategic Innovation Lab, which will provide valuable feedback on technology upgrades to support gaming use cases.

[LIVE] Efren Bata Reyes, widely regarded as the greatest pool player of all time, has joined Eyeball Games as an ambassador. Players of the Eyeball Pool game may have the opportunity to meet him in player-versus-player (PvP) matches in the future.

NFT Metrics

Blockchain Game Metrics

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

Gaming Token Performance

The total market cap for gaming tokens now stands at US$10.11 billion, down -3% from last week.

News Highlights

• Cronos has announced a new partnership with Ubisoft, a leading video game creator and publisher. Ubisoft will join the Cronos ecosystem as a node validator, as well as continue its exploration of blockchain technology to support gaming use cases through its Strategic Innovation Lab.
• OpenSea announced the launch of  ‘Deals’, a peer-to-peer NFT swap function powered by OpenSea’s native NFT protocol, Seaport. Deals allows collectors to trade NFTs with one another, and add WETH as an incentive to “sweeten the deal”.
• Luxury fashion brand Gucci is partnering with auction house Christie’s on a sale featuring the work of leading creators in the digital art space. It comprises 21 NFTs which harness artificial intelligence or other generative techniques to create interpretations of classic Gucci design elements.
• Louis Vuitton, in collaboration with Pharrell, has dropped an NFT of its iconic Speedy handbag. The bag is currently claimable as a digital collectible, while the physical version is set to be released in January 2024. The NFT, named ‘Speedy 40 VIA’, is exclusively available to Treasure Trunk NFT holders, the fashion brand’s access token launched in June.
• Blue-chip NFT collection Doodles has announced new details of its collaboration with family entertainment company Camp. The partnership will bring to life an immersive experience of the Doodles world that will launch on 19 August. The joint venture will also introduce a co-branded collection of clothing and accessories, as well as a line of kids and youth products.

Recent Research Reports

• Research Roundup Newsletter [June 2023]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring trending market insights in June, charts of the month, and our latest research exploring ZK rollups and Layer-0 protocols.
• The Development of ZK Rollups: Zero-knowledge rollups (ZK rollups) are still in their nascent stage. However, as the technology evolves, various methods to achieve compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) have emerged.
• Layer-0: Infrastructure for Customised Blockchains: Layer-0 protocols are the infrastructure that customised Layer-1 blockchains can be built on. We explore notable projects like Cosmos, Polkadot, Avalanche, LayerZero, and zkLink.

Recent University Articles

• What Are Reddit’s MOON and BRICK Tokens?: MOON and BRICK are examples of Reddit’s Community Points system. Learn what they are, what they’re used for, and how to buy them.
• What Is XRP (Ripple)?: One of the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalisation, XRP is used by financial institutions, corporations, and end users across the globe for fast payments. Read on to learn more about this altcoin.
• What Is Shorting? How to Short the Crypto Market: Shorting is a way to potentially profit from declining prices. Learn about what shorting means and how it works.

We’re all ears.

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Authors

Research and Insights Team

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