NFT & Gaming Weekly –  📈 Telegram Tap-to-Earn Games Boost TON Transactions

Telegram tap-to-earn games boost The Open Network (TON) transactions. Uniswap Labs acquires ‘Crypto: The Game’. South Korea redefines NFTs under new regulatory guidelines.

Chart of the Week

The Open Network (TON), the Layer-1 (L1) blockchain integrated into popular instant messaging  app Telegram, gained traction recently. This was driven by the popularity of games on Telegram like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat, among others.

Notcoin (NOT) is a tap-to-earn game that runs in Telegram, allowing players to earn cryptocurrency by tapping on a virtual gold coin in the game. Hamster Kombat is another popular Telegram-based game. It’s structured around managing a virtual cryptocurrency exchange, where players act as the CEO.

These games contributed to a significant surge in transactions on TON from 4.5 million in April to around 9 million in May. Moreover, its total number of transactions outpaced Bitcoin and Ethereum in the past two weeks.

New Project Spotlight

NFT Collectibles

[Live] Blank Canvas

Metaverse maestro Tillavision and comic book publisher Blank Canvas have come together to create an NFT project that is a distillation of Tillavision’s genius. With three visualiser NFTs and an extended comic book collectible, the ‘Blank Canvas’ drop invites you to follow a young artist on his quest for inspiration.

[Upcoming] Thoughts on Being Human

Romanian digital collage artist Morysetta is a fan-favourite among the Crypto.com NFT faithful. In her latest drop, she explores the depths of the human experience with 49 unique NFTs distributed across 415 surprise packs.Each digital collectible invites collectors to contemplate the mystery of life, and power of the human consciousness.

The following table shows selected top games by weekly volume in USD:

Gaming Token Performance

The total market cap for gaming tokens now stands at $28.7 billion, down -21.07% from last week.

News Highlights

• Uniswap Labs has acquired ‘Crypto: The Game’, an on-chain competition inspired by the TV show “Survivor”, where players compete in various challenges and vote each other out. The game’s founders will join Uniswap Labs to enhance its experience and integrate decentralised finance elements.
  
• The Sandbox raised $20 million through a convertible debt offering at a $1 billion valuation, with the funds supporting its decentralised metaverse development. Co-led by Kingsway Capital and Animoca Brands, the investment will enhance platform tools, introduce new social interactions, and expand mobile accessibility by 2025.
  
• Tapswap and Yescoin, two popular Telegram-based games, announced plans to launch their tokens on The Open Network (TON), following the success of Notcoin and Hamster Kombat. Additionally, Pixelverse, a Telegram-based tap-to-earn crypto game, raised $5.5 million from investors. The game has registered over 15 million users since its recent launch.
  
• South Korea’s financial regulators have issued new guidelines for NFTs under the upcoming Virtual Asset User Protection Act, effective 19 July 2024. The Act reclassifies certain NFTs as virtual assets or securities based on their characteristics. Entities issuing NFTs must register their operations, with non-compliance resulting in criminal penalties.
  
• Lotte and Hyundai, major retailers in South Korea, are exiting the NFT market due to a slowdown and shifting focus back to their core business operations. This strategic realignment is also influenced by regulatory changes in South Korea, which may categorise certain NFTs as virtual assets requiring stricter compliance.

Recent Research Reports

• Points Farming – Development, Significance and Controversies: Points farming has become ubiquitous in crypto recently. Our report looks into its development and two examples Friend.tech and EigenLayer, before delving into its significance and controversies.
• SocialFi – Business Models and New Developments: SocialFi in Web3 empowers users with enhanced data control and direct creator compensation without intermediaries, leveraging blockchain for better user engagement and innovative monetisation methods.
• Research Roundup Newsletter [May 2024]: We present to you our latest issue of Research Roundup, featuring our deep dives into points farming and SocialFi, and many more.

Recent University Articles

• What Is Arweave and How to Buy AR: Arweave utilises blockweave architecture and Proof of Access consensus to ensure permanent and sustainable data storage. Here’s how it works.
• Crypto Fear & Greed Index: What It Is and How to Use It: Learn all about the crypto Fear & Greed Index that measures how human emotions affect and interfere with market dynamics.
• What Is Streamr (DATA) and How to Buy It: Streamr democratises the Web3 data economy by allowing users to collectively monetise their data. Here’s how it works.

We’re all ears.

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Authors

Research and Insights Team

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