While the majority of crypto projects are struggling to survive the crypto winter, cryptocurrencies used in blockchain games are growing in value. Indeed, cryptocurrency in a gaming metaverse is not only a way to buy and sell in-game items, pay for upgrades, and perform any actions like in a traditional game, but it is a way to invest. By purchasing in-game items, players get ownership over them, by upgrading NFTs, users increase their value in the secondary markets, and finally, in-game cryptocurrency can be exchanged for another cryptocurrency or fiat money. In other words, by investing in a metaverse, users get real benefits and can earn real income.
Investing in a Sustainable Game Economy
It is important to understand that not all metaverses are similar, and cryptocurrency is a highly volatile phenomenon. What collects millions today may easily collapse tomorrow. That’s why it is crucial to choose a metaverse with potential. It means that the metaverse shall not only offer an opportunity to earn but attract players in the long term so that users don’t leave the game even if the token value drops. It means that the games with the highest investment potential are those that offer, along with an opportunity to earn, an exciting gaming experience, an engaging plot with many possible developments, and an extensive set of activities.
On the example of Axie Infinity, we can observe how a game can lose its leading position due to its unsustainable tokenomics and vulnerability to external negative impact.
The AXS market capitalization dropped from almost $10 bln to less than $1 bln within one year only.
With the AXS price plunging from above $160 to slightly over $16 at the moment of writing:
A number of unfavorable events preceded the drop, however, Axie Infinity’s efforts to attract new players by lowering requirements to enter the game demonstrate that the project is struggling, and for now, some specialists insist that its decline may go further than just a temporary drop in the token price. An attack on the Ronin network on which Axie runs resulted in the loss of $620 million in crypto - a fact that also affected the game adversely. But this is not the only reason for the game crypto to drop in value. The main issue is the tokens themselves. To create Axies, users need to have SLP tokens. There is no limit on the number of SLP tokens that can be produced. The token is inflationary which means that over time, its value will be decreasing, and with it, the earnings of the users will be dropping, too.
Indeed, there are no reasons for players to stay in a game and further invest in it if the earning possibilities are reduced like it is happening now. The game doesn’t offer an elaborate plot to motivate users to play, the graphics are simple, and in total, the gaming experience isn’t as good as one might expect from a modern game.
Even though other metaverse games suffered losses, too, there are some that have been taking leading positions for several years already, and their tokens haven’t lost much of their value. Those are the metaverse coins that are worth considering an investment.
Decentraland (MANA)
Decentraland was launched in 2020 as a virtual reality platform that enabled users to create, publish, and monetize their content. Users can log in, create an avatar, and start buying land, exploring, and constructing - those who own land can decide what type of premises they can build on it and what kind of content can be published there.
Decentraland isn’t controlled by any organization, this is its main difference from other popular metaverse projects. There is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO) that determines how the project would develop in the future.
Decentraland provides users with a comprehensive metaverse experience. Players can do there everything they can normally do in the real world with the only difference that in Decentraland, they can decide what to build.
The metaverse is being improved constantly and undergoing serious in-game development. New areas are added and built upon, new players appear constantly, and it is pretty promising.
ApeCoin
It is an NFT project, and its metaverse is still under development. For now, the Bored Ape Yacht Club has launched its token called ApeCoin which will be a standard currency required in the Otherside metaverse. The token can be claimed by the BAYC NFT holders or purchased on exchanges.
The LetsExchange team follows all the new developments and listing ApeCoin which has taken over the crypto market by storm, was the first thing to do when the coin moved to the top by surpassing MANA for a short time. Now, our users can purchase ApeCoin or Ape NFT in the Tron network for more than 710 coins and tokens supported by the platform without KYC/AML. Do not worry if you don’t have the required crypto assets to swap them for an ApeNFT - your Trustee Wallet enables you to purchase almost any of the supported coins with your bank card and swap them directly from your wallet via the trusted platform.
The Otherside metaverse is still under development but considering the popularity of the BAYC project, investing in Otherside may be promising.
The Sandbox
SAND, a utility and governance token of the Sandbox metaverse, has been among the leaders since the metaverse launch in 2018.
The project is unique in the way it is developed. Users have access to the metaverse anytime, and they can decide what to build there. Users can use free pools provided by the ecosystem and further monetize them.
It means that Sandbox is developed through content generated by users only. It makes the metaverse highly customizable and flexible which definitely adds value to the project and makes it sustainable.
Bottom Line
Choosing a cryptocurrency to invest in is a difficult task. Those metaverses that are on the top now may lose their positions when new projects come that are more engaging, offer more features, or where the earning opportunities are higher. That’s why it is recommended to invest only funds that you can afford to lose.