Chart of the Week

Bitcoin Ordinals activity has surged recently, surpassing 350,000 daily inscriptions. The increase in activity is driven by the launch of the BRC-69 token standard by Ordinals launchpad Luminex, which reduces the cost of inscriptions for Ordinals by over 90%. With the new token standard, minters only need to inscribe one line of text instead of an entire image, which can be then rendered using recursive inscriptions.

Read our research report on Bitcoin NFT projects and other developments of the Bitcoin ecosystem: Bitcoin’s Expanding Ecosystem: Layer-2, DeFi, NFT.

New Project Spotlight

NFT Collectibles

[COMING SOON] ‘IV’ is a project by ONEFALLART, a digital artist and music maker. Dropping on 17 July on Crypto.com NFT, it features warriors, rebels, and agents of change who examine humanity’s relationship to technology.

[COMING SOON] ‘Dino Kicks’ is a collection by Chibi Dinos, the creator of arcade basketball game, Primal Hoop. The drop features iconic shoes that make up the first gear drop for Primal Hoop, and will be the genesis collection for the game. The collection goes live on Crypto.com NFT on 19 July.

Blockchain Games

[LIVE] The Crypto.com ‘The First Frontier’ giveaway is back, with 'Sapphire Lagoon' and 'Molten Cavern' NFTs up for grabs. In total, 10 Crypto.com Land NFTs will be given away across 10 days from 11 July to 20 July 2023.

[LIVE] Legends of Bezogia has released its beta 0.16.1 version. The game features three game modes: battle royale (coming soon), creative arcade, as well as open-world adventures. Gamers are also able to sign up for the next beta test session to participate in the new MMORPG experience.

The following table shows select top collections (by weekly sales volume on each platform) and a sample of their art:

The following table shows select top games by weekly Unique Active Wallets (UAW):

Gaming Token Performance

The total market cap for gaming tokens now stands at US$10.47 billion, up +10% from last week.

News Highlights

• Google Play has announced that it will allow developers to incorporate digital assets such as NFTs into their apps and games in its store. Game companies are able to offer the ability to buy, sell, or earn tokenised assets, as long as they make it clear in the Play Console that there are blockchain-based elements in their app.

• Starbucks’s Web3 loyalty program Odyssey has announced a new collaboration with NFT collection Aku, which was created by former Major League Baseball player Micah Johnson. As part of the launch, Starbucks will also donate $100,000 to Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit tackling food insecurity among children.

• Global convenience store franchise 7-Eleven is releasing free ‘Slurpee’ NFTs on the Polygon network. There will be a collectible game featuring a virtual 7-Eleven Slurpee cup and four flavours, with collectors able to claim the "Slurpee Vibe Digital Collectible” of their choice.

• Blue-chip NFT collection Cool Cats has announced three new casual gaming titles, along with several strategic partnerships. The games include an arcade style multiplayer game, a 2D browser-based endless runner, and a Match 3 game. These are set to arrive in the second half of 2023 to early 2024.

• Japanese game company Sega and Line Next are partnering to create a Web3 game for the blockchain gaming platform Game Dosi. The game is set to utilise Sega’s game IPs, combined with Line Next’s NFT expertise.

Recent Research Reports

• The Development of ZK Rollups: Zero-knowledge rollups (ZK rollups) are still in their nascent stage. However, as the technology evolves, various methods to achieve compatibility with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) have emerged.

• Layer-0: Infrastructure for Customised Blockchains: Layer-0 protocols make up the infrastructure that customised Layer-1 blockchains can be built on. We explore notable projects like Cosmos, Polkadot, Avalanche, LayerZero, and zkLink.

• Alpha Navigator: Quest for Alpha [June 2023]: Asset classes finished the first half of 2023 strongly, with crypto in the lead. Decelerating US inflation readings could ease market concerns for the time being, while BTC options implied volatilities remain muted.

Recent University Articles

• What Is Shorting? How to Short the Crypto Market: Shorting is a way to potentially profit from declining prices. Learn about what shorting means and how it works.

• Introduction to Ethereum Layer-2s: Learn all about Ethereum Layer-2 scaling technologies, such as optimistic rollups and Zero-Knowledge rollups (ZK rollups), and how they work.

• Bitcoin NFTs - How the Ordinals Protocol Works: Learn all about what the Bitcoin Ordinals protocol is and how it works — from satoshis to inscriptions to NFTs.

Disclaimer

The information in this report is provided as general market commentary by Crypto.com and its affiliates, and does not constitute any financial, investment, legal, tax, or any other advice. This report is not intended to offer or recommend any access to products and/or services. While we endeavour to publish and maintain accurate information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information in this report nor do we adopt nor endorse, nor are we responsible for, the accuracy or reliability of any information submitted by other parties.

This report is not directed or intended for distribution to, or use by, any person or entity who is a citizen or resident of, or located in a jurisdiction, where such distribution or use would be contrary to applicable law or that would subject Crypto.com and/or its affiliates to any registration or licensing requirement.

The brands and the logos appearing in this report are registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Nothing in this report is intended to suggest that NFTs are investment products, nor securities, nor anything similar or “financial” of any description. NFTs are to be reserved for fun only and NOT with any expectation of “value”, “profit”, “yield” or “investment”. You are also aware that NFTs are not a store of value, are not a generally accepted medium of exchange, and are considered very illiquid and volatile.

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