Cryptocurrency
Animoca still bullish on blockchain games, awaits license for metaverse fund
Blockchain-based games have been a hot topic in the cryptocurrency space over the past two years, accounting for considerable growth and daily activity on a number of protocols despite prolonged bear market conditions.
Market research estimates that Web3 gaming pulled in around $4.5 billion in funding in 2022 as asset managers, investment funds and venture capitalists look to cash in on the burgeoning sector.
In an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph, Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu highlighted the firm’s renewed optimism in the blockchain gaming sector and gave an update on its anticipated metaverse fund which grabbed headlines in late 2022.
Metaverse fund awaiting license
Animoca Brands originally earmarked up to $2 billion for a proposed metaverse fund in November 2022 which intends to invest in a variety of mid to late-stage startups building metaverse products and experiences.
The company was forced to scale back on its original investment target as per reports in 2023, reducing the amount to $1 billion in January. Reports citing unnamed sources in March then indicated that the fund would be further reduced to $800 million due to volatility affecting the cryptocurrency space.
Related: NFT games are ‘only scratching the surface’ of what’s possible — Animoca’s Yat Siu
When queried about the current state of the proposed metaverse fund, Siu told Cointelegraph that the firm was still awaiting a license before it can begin to put its money to work.
“That’s the gating factor. But Animoca has made many investments this year and we are over 450 portfolio companies today. That doesn’t come from sitting back and being passive.”
Siu added that Animoca continues to invest in a variety of early stage startups through its venture arm while the majority of investments still come directly from the company’s balance sheet.
Upcoming ‘AAA’ blockchain games on the horizon
While licensing remains a hurdle for Animoca’s Metaverse fund, Siu expects a number of ‘AAA’ titles in which the company has invested in to hit the market by the end of 2023 or early next year.
“That’s one of the reasons we’re so bullish about the segment, hopefully at least one of them will work out.”
Siu added that the quality of titles that Animoca is backing is sound and that blockchain-based games don’t necessarily need to have immediate breakout success to be sustainable, stating, “Most importantly, all these games are built on open protocol systems, like Ethereum or Polygon, meaning they’re on chain, which allows third parties to do some pretty cool stuff.”
Animoca’s co-founder sees a generation of AAA-level blockchain games coming out by the end of 2024, highlighting the shift in focus, capital and talent from mainstream gaming to the sector.
“They’re built by people who know how to make games whereas maybe three years ago, a lot of games came out built by excited blockchain guys, but who knew very little about what it takes to make a game,” he said.
Blockchain games need to do business in the biggest markets
Another factor that has ramped up the development and quality of upcoming blockchain games and those in beta has been the advent of scaling protocols like Polygon and technological advances like zero-knowledge proofs.
Immutable @0xPolygon
We are joining forces in an industry-defining partnership to accelerate the development and adoption of web3 gaming. The future of gaming begins today with the announcement of the Immutable zkEVM, powered by Polygon.https://t.co/7FEyidsydV pic.twitter.com/IkhbWrLIaq
— Immutable (@Immutable) March 20, 2023
Siu highlighted the likes of layer-2 platform Immutable which has made use of zkEVM to reduce costs and improve transaction speeds of NFT generation for blockchain games. The infrastructure alone has made a difference, but Siu added that choosing the right chain also has a massive role to play in the success of a title.
“Because it’s a blockchain game, you need to do business in the biggest market there is and that happens to be Ethereum.”
Siu added that early blockchain games were hamstrung by game design that held onto “Web2 thinking” which was focused on monopolizing network effects of Web2. Siu said bootstrapping to decentralized protocols like Ethereum had an upside and a downside: “The more you open up your network effects. And the more inclusive you become, actually, the more value you end up generating, but there is a loss of control when you do that.”
He also admitted that taking a potential AAA, first-person shooter completely on-chain would be “really hard.” Adopting a hybrid on-chain approach might be better suited as the industry moves towards truly decentralized games.
Magazine: 2023 is a make-or-break year for blockchain gaming: Play-to-own
“Provenance, skins and certain things that don’t requireall the time and data is probably a good starting point,” he said.
Siu said that the established culture of gaming around the world could allow for gaming firms to design and implement blockchain elements as audiences continue to come to grips with Web3 functionality:
“There’s interfaces that we can design that are familiar to the gamer, and essentially introduce the whole experience of crypto and Web3, which comes also with financial literacy onboarding.”
Cryptocurrency
Tron (TRX) Price Heatmap: Is a Local Bottom on the Horizon?
Post-Christmas, the cryptocurrency market turned red, with most assets suffering heavy losses. Tron (TRX) is not immune to the downturn. Earlier this month, the asset reached a new peak and reclaimed the 10th spot by market cap, which sparked a renewed sense of hope in the community.
But the latest pullback extended its losses. As a result, TRX is down by over 43% from its recently established all-time high of $0.43 to the current price level of $0.25. However, data points to the formation of a local bottom soon.
TRX Nearing a Turning Point?
CryptoQuant’s analysis of TRX’s price heatmap revealed that the green trend, represented by the one-year moving average plus two sigma, could serve as a crucial support level during the current market correction.
Historically, this green trend has acted as a strong foundation during bull rallies, and it is anticipated to provide similar support, potentially marking a local bottom for TRX’s price.
The current levels for the green, purple, and blue trends are $0.23, $0.40, and $0.49, respectively. These levels are dynamic and will likely adjust upward with increased interest and demand. As the market heats up, attention should be given to the purple and blue trends, which may act as resistance zones. If TRX price stays above the green trend, it could signal the start of a new upward trend.
On the other hand, CryptoQuant warned that a drop below the green trend might indicate a weakening bull cycle. As demand strengthens, Tron’s price could target the purple and blue trend levels, with a breakthrough above the 0.40 level offering strong market confidence.
What’s Next For Tron?
Earlier this month, TRX’s rally was driven by speculations about Grayscale listing and Tron founder Justin Sun’s initiatives, including a $30 million purchase of WLFI tokens tied to Trum’s project and his advisory role. Sun’s involvement with the artwork “Comedian” has also engaged the community, igniting ripple effects for tokens like BAN and related projects.
Despite the latest setback to the rally, experts point to a moderately favorable year ahead for the asset. CoinCodex, for one, predicted that TRX could see a modest 2.93% price increase to $0.264 by January 24, 2025. The sentiment remains neutral, while the Fear & Greed Index reflects high optimism at 73 (Greed).
TRX has demonstrated 50% green days and 17.17% volatility over the past month, thereby indicating active market participation. Analysts view this as a good buying opportunity, with expectations of a short-term peak of $0.268 on December 30, 2024.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Cryptocurrency
ADA Needs to Maintain This Level to Avoid Drop to $0.5: Cardano Price Analysis
Cardano is one of those crypto assets that has closely followed Bitcoin in terms of price action and is currently experiencing a pullback similar to BTC.
By Edris Derakhshi (TradingRage)
The USDT Paired Chart
On the USDT-Paired chart, the asset began its aggressive rally at the beginning of November, breaking the 200-day moving average to the upside. Since then, multiple resistance levels have been broken, but the $1.2 level has rejected the asset on a couple of occasions.
The market’s failure to continue beyond the $1.2 level has led to a correction toward the $0.75 support zone, successfully preventing a deeper decline. If this level holds, it could only be a matter of time before ADA climbs above the $1.2 mark. Yet, a breakdown of this area could result in a drop toward the 200-day moving average, located around the $0.5 level.
The BTC Paired Chart
On the ADA/BTC daily chart, it is evident that Cardano has outperformed Bitcoin during the recent crypto rally but is also depreciating against BTC on a broader scale. With the 1,000 SAT support level being almost broken to the downside, it is likely for the ADA/BTC chart to decline toward the 200-day moving average, located around the 700 SAT mark.
Therefore, as the chart suggests, it is probable that BTC will outperform ADA in the coming weeks.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.
Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.
Cryptocurrency
Bitcoin Price Analysis: BTC Risks Dropping Toward $80K if it Fails to Reclaim $100K Soon
Bitcoin has failed to sustain its rally above the $100K level and has been correcting over the last week.
Yet, a bullish continuation can materialize soon.
Technical Analysis
By Edris Derakhshi (TradingRage)
The Daily Chart
On the daily chart, the asset dropped below the $100K level last week and has failed to climb back above it since. While the $90K support zone has held the market, preventing it from dropping lower, the price has failed to break above the $100K level yet again and is getting rejected to the downside.
This could result in a deeper continuation below the $90K and toward the $80K area in the coming weeks if the price fails to break back above $100K.
The 4-Hour Chart
Looking at the 4-hour timeframe, things look slightly more tricky for Bitcoin. The price has recently broken the ascending channel pattern to the downside, which can be a reversal signal. The lower boundary of the pattern has also been retested twice alongside the $100K resistance level.
Yet, both levels have held and pushed the asset lower, which could lead to a drop toward the $90K level and even lower in the short term.
On-Chain Analysis
By Edris Derakhshi (TradingRage)
Long-Term Holder SOPR
Not everything can be figured out using technical and price analysis. For a better view of the underlying dynamics of the Bitcoin network, it is beneficial to analyze on-chain metrics.
This chart presents the long-term holder SOPR metric, which measures the ratio of profit realization by investors who have held their coins for over 6 months. As the chart suggests, the realized profit is relatively high, but it has yet to reach the values previously seen when the market was consolidating below the $70K level. This is especially interesting, as BTC is now trading around $100K.
As a result, it could be interpreted that long-term holders’ selling pressure is still insufficient to overwhelm the market, and the price could still rally higher in the coming weeks.
Binance Free $600 (CryptoPotato Exclusive): Use this link to register a new account and receive $600 exclusive welcome offer on Binance (full details).
LIMITED OFFER for CryptoPotato readers at Bybit: Use this link to register and open a $500 FREE position on any coin!
Disclaimer: Information found on CryptoPotato is those of writers quoted. It does not represent the opinions of CryptoPotato on whether to buy, sell, or hold any investments. You are advised to conduct your own research before making any investment decisions. Use provided information at your own risk. See Disclaimer for more information.
Cryptocurrency charts by TradingView.
- Forex2 years ago
Forex Today: the dollar is gaining strength amid gloomy sentiment at the start of the Fed’s week
- Forex2 years ago
How is the Australian dollar doing today?
- Forex2 years ago
Unbiased review of Pocket Option broker
- Forex2 years ago
Dollar to pound sterling exchange rate today: Pound plummeted to its lowest since 1985
- Cryptocurrency2 years ago
What happened in the crypto market – current events today
- World2 years ago
Why are modern video games an art form?
- Commodities2 years ago
Copper continues to fall in price on expectations of lower demand in China
- Forex2 years ago
The dollar is down again against major world currencies