In January, ApeCoin (APE) had an underwhelming performance compared to metaverse-based tokens like Decentraland (MANA) and The Sandbox (SAND). APE token gained 61% compared to the 90% and 150% respective gains seen in SAND and MANA. The subdued gains can be attributed to the hefty APE staking rewards that is likely creating some selling pressure. An upcoming unlock of around 9% of APE’s circulating supply in March 2023, along with not-so-impressive fundamentals, will add further headwinds for the token. The gains in APE will depend on the success of the blockchain gaming projects in the ApeCoin ecosystem and new partnerships …

The rally in cryptocurrency markets started in early January with a spike in heavily-shorted altcoins and Ethereum (ETH) liquid staking derivative (LSD) tokens due to the upcoming network upgrade in March. Soon gains started to show across the board as buyers started to play catch up. The improving macroeconomic conditions, such as reduced inflation and a stable job sector in the United States, provided additional tailwinds for the positive rally. Bitcoin (BTC) is en route to its most impressive closing for January since 2013. Its price has gained 40% year-to-date from the opening value of $16,530. Another important catalyst for …

The metaverse hype that began in 2021 dissolved almost entirely by the end of 2022 as the top projects in the space, Decentraland, and The Sandbox, lost 95% of their market capitalization. The most prominent reason for the fall was lack of usage growth. Still, the metaverse narrative is far from dead and will grow in the future. Reportedly, Apple will launch its VR gear sometime in spring 2023. The announcement was a positive catalyst for MANA and SAND, causing a double-digit price surge. While there’s evidence of positive buying volume supporting the pump, the weak fundamentals of metaverse platforms …

After nearly a 20% rally last week, Bitcoin (BTC) is on track to end this week with gains of roughly 10%. Bitcoin’s rally has improved sentiment and attracted buying in several altcoins. This sent the total crypto market capitalization firmly above the $1 trillion mark. The strong recovery in Bitcoin has startled several analysts who remain skeptical about the rally. Some believe that the current rise is a dead cat bounce that will reverse direction sharply while others see similarities between the current rally and the 2018 bear market recovery. Although traders should be ready for any eventuality, the pace …

It looks as if the bear cycle is going to claim another high-profile crypto company. On Jan. 19, Digital Currency Group’s (DCG’s) lending subsidiary, Genesis, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Here we have yet another industry giant with a tale of incestuous lending, little risk management to speak of and opaque reporting policies. For market participants, the gathering storm clouds at DCG represent a failure that would have been unthinkable in 2021. Founded by CEO Barry Silbert in 2015, DCG has become a mainstay in crypto’s short existence. Genesis’ filing revealed the full extent of creditors affected by its implosion, …

Trump NFTs daily sales surge by 800% Former United States President Donald Trump’s nonfungible token (NFT) trading card collection has witnessed a massive resurgence in daily sales volume in recent days. Compared to Jan. 17 sales volumes, Jan 18. and Jan. 19 saw spikes of 800% and 600% respectively, according to market metrics aggregator Cryptoslam. Some pundits believe the renewed interest could be due to his imminent return to social media networks, following reports that the former president was seeking to rejoin Facebook and Twitter ahead of the 2024 presidential election campaign. NFT Watch: Trump Digital Trading Cards see 88% …

The Metaverse and Virtual Reality (VR) go hand in hand in the public’s imagination and platforms including Somnium Space, Crypto Voxels, and Meta’s Horizon Worlds already support the technology. But despite describing itself as a “decentralized virtual reality platform” on its website, the browser-based 3D metaverse platform Decentraland still lacks VR. Sean Ong, founder of extended reality specialists XR Dev Studio, sits on a team that has developed an “alpha” version of the VR platform. He explained that while “VR has always been part of Decentraland’s vision,” the Decentraland Foundation has been prioritizing the implementation of core features ahead of …

The metaverse platform Decentranland announced a new platform feature which allows its users who own virtual LAND to essentially become landlords. Owners can now officially rent out their property to other users on the platform for predefined periods of time. This allows users to earn passive income off of their metaverse assets. Decentraland classifies LAND owners as accounts or wallet addresses which own the smart contract for LAND, whether it be “a Parcel, an Estate, or both." All LAND rentals are performed in (MANA), the native token of Decentraland and paid upfront in total. The platform gave examples of digital …

In changing the name of its parent company to Meta, Facebook put a stake in the ground: It would be the symbol of the evolution of the internet, the metaverse. Whether we liked it or not. According to Meta, the metaverse is “a set of digital spaces to socialize, learn, play and more.” Its first true attempt came in the form of Horizon Worlds, a virtual reality universe so lifeless and devoid of content that it has people asking if the metaverse is a step forward or backward. Thankfully, it won’t matter. The metaverse, a term from long before Facebook …

The total cryptocurrency market capitalization dropped by 5% between Nov. 14 and Nov. 21, reaching a notable $795 billion. However, the overall sentiment is far worse, considering that this valuation is the lowest seen since December 2020. Bitcoin (BTC) price dipped a mere 2.8% on the week, but investors have little to celebrate because the current $16,100 level represents a 66% drop year-to-date. Even if the FTX and Alameda Research collapse has been priced in, investor uncertainty is now focused on the Grayscale funds, including the $10.5 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Genesis Trading, part of the Digital Currency Group …

The Brønnøysund Register Center, a Norwegian governmental agency, partnered with the Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young (EY) to step into the metaverse with a new virtual office location. The center is responsible for managing numerous public registers for Norway, along with systems for the government’s digital exchange of information. According to the announcement, the agency is choosing to create a metaverse location because the “future users of public services are there,” and it wants to connect with the younger generation that utilizes its services. Magnus Jones, Nordic innovation lead at EY, told Cointelegraph: “More and more authorities see …

An initial interpretation of DappRadar numbers on Oct. 11 reported extremely low engagement numbers for Decentraland, one of Web3’s most-hyped metaverses. The numbers shocked the community, as the platform has a current market evaluation of $1.2 billion. Shortly after the initial report broke, both DappRadar and Decentraland verified that the published number of less than 40 unique active wallets (UAW) was not an accurate representation of activity on the network. According to DappRadar's tracker at the time of writing, UAW is just over 600. A DappRadar report following the incident revealed that blockchain games and metaverse projects raised a cumulative …