Quick Take

• Weekly Trend: The NFT market continued to decline in July with a 1.9% drop in trading volume MoM. Actual trading increased while wash trading decreased over the period, indicating a shift towards more organic market activity.

• Top Crypto.com NFT Drops: Exclusive Premium Web3 Domain Drop, The Tactical Gear Depot, As Good As It Gets, Project Ishin X Ashurawomens, Quantum Cryptonauts

• Notable NFT News: Telegram launched an in-app browser supporting decentralised TON Sites; Telegram’s The Banana Game is gaining popularity; Hamster Kombat and Catizen postponed their airdrops; Notcoin launched the story-driven game Lost Dogs; Animoca Brands partnered with LayerZero Labs for interoperability.

Chart of the Week

The NFT market experienced a continual decline in July, with overall trading volumes dropping by 1.9% month-over-month. Despite this drop, the actual trading volume increased significantly by 53% month-over-month, while the wash trading (a form of market manipulation where an asset is bought and sold simultaneously to create the illusion of increased trading volume) volume plummeted by 63%, from US$206 million (47% of total sales) in June to $75 million (18% of total sales) in July. This suggests a shift towards more organic market activity and healthier trading dynamics despite the overall reduction in trading volumes.

Recent drivers of NFT trading include the Ronin blockchain reaching 2 million daily active users, propelled by its expanding ecosystem and upcoming technologies like Ronin zkEVM. Additionally, the Immutable blockchain recorded $21 million in sales over the past month, representing a 70% increase in sales volume, driven by its Gods Unchained cards collection and Guild of Guardians heroes collection.

The following table shows selected top games by weekly volume in USD:

Gaming Token Performance

The total market cap for gaming tokens now stands at $22.38 billion, decreasing by -5.09% from last week.

News Highlights

• Telegram launched an in-app browser supporting decentralised TON Sites, enhancing user experience and accessibility to Web3. The update includes features like Stars, a mini app payment system, boosting the platform's engagement with almost one billion monthly users.

• The Open Network (TON)-based idle game The Banana Game is gaining popularity. Developed by CARV protocol, a modular data layer for gaming and AI, it aims to boost Web3 gaming adoption and gather valuable user data within the TON ecosystem.

• Hamster Kombat, a popular Telegram-based game, delayed its planned July token airdrop as the team works on resolving technical issues with the TON blockchain. The game plans to allocate 60% of the airdrop to players and aims to expand its ecosystem beyond gaming.

• Catizen, a Telegram-based puzzle game, postponed its CATI token airdrop after backlash from a $100,000 donation to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), citing community concerns and the need to secure exchanges and liquidity. 

• Notcoin launched Lost Dogs, a story-driven Telegram game featuring Notcoin’s NOT tokens, Lost Dogs NFTs, and a new in-game currency called WOOF. The game, developed with TON blockchain partners, involves players making decisions that shape the narrative, earning rewards in NOT and WOOF.

• The Doodles NFT project has generated $50 million in royalties and launched Doodles Stoodio on the Base platform. It also introduced Doodles Records, releasing an EP featuring artists like Lil Wayne and Pharrell Williams, and promoting the upcoming animated film Dullsville and the Doodleverse.

• Animoca Brandspartnered with LayerZero Labs to integrate LayerZero's omnichain interoperability protocol across its projects, enhancing cross-chain interactions and digital ownership experiences. This partnership aims to improve Web3 gaming and digital content interoperability for Animoca's portfolio and user base.

• New Developments in GameFi: Play-to-Airdrop and Prediction Markets: Both play-to-airdrop and prediction markets have blurred the boundaries between Web2 and Web3. Our latest report looks into new developments in GameFi by delving deeper into these two trends.

• Spot Ethereum ETFs: In May, the SEC approved eight spot Ether ETFs, potentially launching in July. These ETFs, unlike Bitcoin’s, offer staking rewards. Projections estimate ETH ETFs could see $1.4 to $4.5 billion in inflows and $700 million to $2.4 billion in trading volume within six months. Ethereum’s scalability upgrades enhance its investment appeal.

• New Ethereum Layer-2s: Ethereum L2 networks have surged in activity, now accounting for approximately 90% of all transactions on the Ethereum network, up from 77% before the Dencun upgrade. This report explores the new Ethereum L2 landscape by examining the following projects: Cronos zkEVM, Taiko, Morph, Blast, Reya, and MegaETH.

Interested to know more? Access exclusive reports by signing up as a Private member, joining our Crypto.com Exchange VIP Programme, or collecting a Loaded Lions NFT.

• What Is LayerZero and How to Buy the ZRO Token: LayerZero is a groundbreaking omnichain for secure cross-chain transactions and interoperability between major blockchains.

• What Is Toncoin (TON)? What to Know About Telegram’s Cryptocurrency and How to Buy It: Toncoin (TON) is Telegram’s initiative to merge cryptocurrency with its extensive messaging platform. Here’s how it works.

• What Is MakerDAO (DAI)?: Learn about MakerDAO, the DAO of DAOs, and its stablecoin, DAI — including how to use, trade, and create it.

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Authors

Research and Insights Team

Disclaimer

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