The rise of blockchain-based play-to-earn (P2E) gaming was one of the leading stories in 2021 as games such as Axie Infinity exploded in popularity and players realized that they could make life-changing amounts of money while also having fun. According to data from Footprint Analytics, the Ethereum network remains the leader when it comes to the number of games launched on-chain, but persistently high fees and network congestion have pushed a growing number of players to layer-2, cross-chain, bridge-supporting networks and competing blockchains that offer lower-cost transactions costs. Here’s a look at a few non-Ethereum blockchain networks that are gaining …

The Metaverse is quickly becoming one of the biggest trends of 2022. Recent data found that the metaverse sector currently has a market capitalization of over $26 billion. While impressive, new capabilities are also being added to virtual worlds to create more immersive experiences. For example, metaverse communities that cater to creatives are starting to unfold, allowing users to customize their own interactive experiences. Although this is still an emerging concept, the incorporation of music appears to be one of the defining characteristics of social metaverse environments. Music as NFTs For instance, music in the form of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) …

The stock price of popular video game store chain GameStop (GME) surged roughly 13% in one day amid rumors circulating online regarding a partnership with Microsoft to work on NFT gaming. At the time of writing, GME sits at $115.60 as of market close on Feb. 8 and has also held around that level in after-hours trading according to data from TradingView. GME started February at around the $100 region and has been pumping this month on the back of GameStop’s partnership with NFT focused Layer-2 Ethereum scaling solution Immutable X to develop its upcoming NFT marketplace. As part of …

The play-to-earn (P2E) gaming sector of the cryptocurrency ecosystem has been one of the most resilient sectors to the volatility and price declines seen in the past couple of months as gamers are jumping on the ability to earn income while playing tokenized videogames. One project that has seen its token price climb rapidly in the first week of February is Gala (GALA), a protocol focused on utilizing blockchain technology to give players control of the games they play and in-game items they acquire. Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that the price of GALA climbed 117% after …

The price of the Axie Infinity (AXS) token has surged by nearly 40% in three days. AXS rallied to over $65, its best level in more than two weeks, as Axie Infinity revealed a revamped reward structure for its player-vs-player (PVP) competition round. In detail, the play-to-earn startup expanded its number of leaderboard slots to 300,000 and boosted the amount of AXS rewards to 117,676 from the earlier 3,000 for the next season. "This will supercharge the competitive Axie scene and create more demand for quality Axie teams in the ecosystem," Axie Infinity explained, adding that their move would create …

After releasing its latest financial results report, Nintendo held a live Q&A where they reportedly expressed "interest" and "potential" in the Metaverse when it comes to introducing blockchain and NFT technology into their video games. According to the Twitter of David Gibson, Senior Analyst at MST Financial, he asked what the Japanese gaming giant thought about the Metaverse and NFTs, and they confirmed that they are not currently working on anything but are still defining what they could offer gamers. Q) How think about metaverse and NFT? A) We do have interest in this area, we feel the potential in …

Yield Guild Games (YGG) has raised $1.45 million to support people affected by December 16's Typhoon Odette in the Philippines, with nearly $1 million already dispersed to people in need. The funding was used to purchase essential goods like medicines, power generators, and canned food, which were turned over to the Philippine Army and Navy and non-profits to distribute among affected communities. There is still about $458,000 worth of crypto and tokens that have been donated to the relief fund but they have yet to be converted to fiat currency for deployment, according to a representative from YGG. Our Transparency …

Nicolas Pouard, VP at Ubisoft's Strategic Innovations Lab, commented on the negative gamer feedback that Ubisoft received after introducing Quartz and Digits, in an interview with Finder. "It's a reaction we are accustomed to. I think it's great because it shows how engaged our players are and how passionate they are about their hobby and gaming in general. And looking at that, I think it's reassuring." In the interview Pouard goes on to clarify that Quartz and Digits are a "matter of personal choice" for players who "at no point" will be forced to use them. In Pouard's explanation of …

On Thursday, Sky Mavis, the creator of monster-battle game Axie Infinity, released its much-anticipated RON governance token. The token is based on its Ethereum (ETH) sidechain Ronin Network. Its purpose includes paying for transactions on Ronin, staking, and participating in community proposals. According to its developers, Ronin has over 250,000 unique daily active addresses. When ranked by the number of weekly active users, Katana, Ronin's decentralized exchange (DEX), is the No. 2 largest DEX. In addition, the blockchain surpassed $5 billion in deposited value, with 15% of all NFT transactions occurring on the network in 2021. In total, there have …

Polygon (MATIC) emerged as one of the best performers among high-ranking cryptocurrencies on Wednesday as the price rose nearly 17% to reach an intraday high at $1.825. The gains surfaced amid a synchronous rebound across the crypto market that started on Jan. 24. In detail, investors and traders poured in over $250 billion across digital assets, benefiting Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and many others in the process. Polygon, a secondary scaling solution for the Ethereum blockchain, also cashed in on the crypto market rebound. The valuation of its native token, MATIC, rose from as low as $9.77 billion on Jan.24 …

A recent survey revealed that most game developers and their studios have no interest in developing or working with nonfungible tokens (NFTs) or crypto payments. The survey released by the Game Developers Conference on Jan. 21 titled State of the Game Industry 2022 polled 2,700 game developers on their level of interest in NFTs and cryptocurrency. Results were less than favorable for gamers themselves, who have shown great interest in NFTs. A resounding majority of respondents indicated that their studio is ‘not interested' in cryptocurrency as a payment tool (72%) and is ‘not interested’ in NFTs (70%). Only 1% responded …

Nonfungible tokens, better known as NFTs, have gained value, with some selling for thousands, tens of thousands and even millions of dollars. While this spike in value is promising for investors, it does little in proving the asset's long-term value compared to the top of a price bubble. Therefore, for digital assets to sustain their worth over the long term, something else is missing in the equation. That something is utility, which considers how the asset can be used or what a user can do with it. Most NFTs are focused on digital art, which only holds appeal to a …