In March 2024, Bitcoin continued to break records and successfully surpassed the mid-month low. Benefiting from the positive macroeconomic situation, the entire cryptocurrency market performed well. At the same time, the Game Developers Conference 2024 (GDC 2024) played a significant role in promoting the development of the blockchain gaming industry, contributing to a 24.1% increase in market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens and a 17.5% increase in daily active users. Game industry giants and public chains are actively investing in and nurturing the Web3 gaming ecosystem. Let’s pay attention to how these initiatives will be implemented and what results they will bring.
This report is based on data from Footprint Analytics’ Web3 gaming research page. It is an easy-to-use dashboard that provides the most important statistical data and metrics for the Web3 gaming industry, and it is updated in real-time. You can click here to learn more about the latest information on prices, projects, funding, and more.
Market Review for the Month
In March, Bitcoin experienced significant fluctuations between “breakthroughs” and “volatility.” Starting the month at $61,213, it quickly surpassed the previous high of $69,000 and reached a new all-time high of $73,068 on March 14. Although it temporarily dropped by 15.1% to $62,047 in the middle of the month, it regained ground by the end of the month and closed at $69,656, with a monthly increase of 13.8%. In comparison, Ethereum had a relatively stable increase, starting at $3,344 and closing at $3,648, with a 9.1% increase.
Source: Bitcoin and Ethereum Price Trends – Footprint Analytics
The strong performance of the cryptocurrency market in March was mainly due to the market’s expectations of interest rate cuts despite the overall strong economic performance. This prospect intensified inflation concerns and made assets such as Bitcoin and gold more attractive. The price movements of Bitcoin were closely related to the performance of Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States. The mid-month price drop was mainly influenced by the slowdown in the flow of funds into Bitcoin spot ETFs and the reduction of leverage by traditional traders. However, the market’s expectations for the Bitcoin halving event in April maintained its upward momentum.
Although Ethereum’s increase was slightly lower than that of Bitcoin, it still maintained steady growth, partly because the prospects of the approval of Ethereum spot ETFs in the United States seemed uncertain. The Kanun upgrade of Ethereum, an important network upgrade on March 13, aimed to reduce the transaction costs of Ethereum and promote activities within its ecosystem.
In March, the AI industry became the market focus as Nvidia released the Blackwell GPU and GB200 super chip at the AI event GTC 2024, igniting enthusiasm in the US and global stock markets and attracting widespread attention in the cryptocurrency market, driving the rise of the cryptocurrency AI sector.
Overview of the Blockchain Gaming Market
In March, the market capitalization of blockchain gaming tokens increased by 24.1% to reach $24.1 billion. This growth was not only due to the prosperity of the cryptocurrency market but also the promotion of the Game Developers Conference 2024 (GDC 2024). The conference further stimulated the activity of Web3 game developers and significantly increased market attention to game tokens.
Source: Active Game Players Proportion – Footprint Analytics
Driven by market trends and major industry events, the number of daily active users (wallets) in March continued to grow, reaching 2.7 million, an increase of 17.5% compared to February.
Source: Daily Active Users in Blockchain Games – Footprint Analytics
However, although the trading volume has rebounded since the third quarter of 2023, it has not reached the peak level of the second quarter of 2022.
Source: Quarterly Trading Volume in Blockchain Games – Footprint Analytics
Data from the public chains
In March, the rankings of game players showed that Ronin, Polygon, and BNB chains had the largest number of active players, accounting for 35.4%, 20.9%, and 10.8% of the market share, respectively. It is worth mentioning that Ronin and Polygon further consolidated their leading positions, with their market shares increasing by 6.3% and 7.8% respectively compared to February.
Source: Proportion of Active Game Players – Footprint Analytics
In terms of trading volume rankings, Ethereum, Ronin, and BNB chains dominated. In March, Ronin’s trading volume reached $81.7 million, a 35.1% increase compared to the previous month, while BNB chain experienced a 13% decline. Ronin’s market share expanded strongly despite having less than 10 games. With Ronin continuously adding new games, its growth potential is expected to further increase.
Source: Ronin Popular Games – Footprint Analytics
Competition in the public chain sector is becoming increasingly fierce, and major public chains are increasing their investments to promote the prosperity of the Web3 gaming ecosystem. Arbitrum Foundation announced a proposal to distribute 200 million $ARB tokens over two years to support game projects on its blockchain. Among them, 160 million $ARB will be allocated to game publishers and developers, while the remaining funds will be used to improve the infrastructure. This proposal requires approval from the Arbitrum DAO.
At the same time, the Starknet Foundation is also taking active actions and has established a dedicated game committee to promote the development of the Starknet gaming ecosystem. The committee plans to distribute 50 million $STRK tokens to support committee-approved game projects, especially those that can incentivize game development and player participation.
In addition, Immutable, King River Capital, and Polygon Labs have jointly launched a $100 million “Inevitable Games Fund.” This fund combines the expertise of the three parties in the game and blockchain fields to seek and invest in promising game studios and Web3 infrastructure.
Overview of Blockchain Games
In March, the number of active blockchain games remained stable at 2,879, with no significant fluctuations in the market. However, the industry is generally looking forward to major breakthroughs that can significantly increase user engagement.
Source: Monthly Active Blockchain Games – Footprint Analytics
In this context, a question arises: Will the popular game Notcoin this month become the game changer that the market is looking forward to? This simple clicker game, based on the Telegram messaging app, attracted over 35 million players in just a few months. Players can earn in-game coins by interacting with the Notcoin bot on Telegram, inviting friends, and starting the game. However, what prompted 35 million users to engage in this seemingly simple “click the screen to earn game coins” game? The answer lies in the upcoming airdrop event. Notcoin announced that it will migrate its large number of game coins to the blockchain using The Open Network (TON) in April, which has attracted great market attention. But this raises another question: If only the game coins are on the chain, and other game mechanics, equipment, data, and other game elements are not on the chain, can a game be called a “blockchain game”?
Meanwhile, several games and platforms with outstanding performance emerged in March. Among them, the token $GALA of Gala Games had a surge of 69.6%. Gala is committed to building a massive AAA game platform that empowers players with unprecedented freedom, control, and rewards.
On the other hand, the Ethereum-based open-world fantasy battle game Illuvium also made significant progress, successfully raising $12 million in Series A funding. Positioned as the first AAA game on Ethereum, Illuvium stands out with its fully 3D environment, setting it apart from other blockchain games. In March, its $ILV token value increased by 18.2%.
Source: Illuvium
Investment and Financing in the Blockchain Gaming Industry
The blockchain gaming industry experienced an investment boom, raising a total of $151 million, an 80.6% increase compared to the previous month, involving 26 rounds of financing. This significant growth highlights the continued favor and high attention from capital to the industry.
Blockchain Gaming Field Investment and Financing Events in March 2024 (Data source: crypto-fundraising.info)
As the infrastructure of the industry, public chains are actively consolidating their position and promoting ecosystem expansion through investments in game projects. Solana stood out, with Solana Ventures investing in Parallel, and the Solana Foundation funding Elixir Games. Parallel became the project with the largest financing amount in the month, with a financing amount of up to $35 million.
Meanwhile, Avalanche also made significant progress. The Avalanche Foundation strongly supported two projects: BloodLoop and Crystals of Naramunz. In addition, the Avalanche ecosystem fund Blizzard Fund provided funding support to Gunzilla Games, ranking second with a financing amount of $30 million.
Game giant Square Enix not only develops its own blockchain products but also invests in promising Web3 projects. In March, Square Enix injected funds into game platforms Elixir Games and HyperPlay and plans to introduce its game Symbiogenesis to the HyperPlay platform.
Traditional crypto funds were also active. a16z Crypto supported MyPrize and MadWorld, while Animoca Brands supported Illuvium, MetaCene, and game infrastructure Param Labs.
Key Developments in March
Ubisoft will become an XPLA ecosystem node validator.
Web3 gaming platform Pebble, owned by Korean game giant NHN, reached a strategic partnership with Footprint Analytics.
The game blockchain Saga announced the establishment of the Saga Origins department for game distribution.
Sony seeks a patent for “super fungible” game tokens.
Korean game company Nexon revealed that the blockchain version of MapleStory Universe, a popular game, will switch from Polygon to Avalanche.
Note: The content of this article is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market carries risks, and investments should be made with caution.
About Footprint Analytics
Footprint Analytics is a blockchain data solutions provider. With cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, it offers the first no-code data analytics platform and unified data API for the crypto field, allowing users to quickly retrieve NFT, game, and wallet address fund tracking data from over 30 public chain ecosystems.
Product Highlights:
Data API for developers
Footprint Growth Analytics (FGA) for GameFi projects
Batch download for big data
All data sets provided by Footprint
Check out our Twitter (Footprint_Data) for more product updates.
Tags:
DeFi, GameFi, social, metaverse
WEB3
Cryptocurrency
Funding
Market trends
Source: https://www.bitpush.news/articles/6585316
Related News
Changtui: firefly, the layer2 that stands at the entrance of the web3 social platform with billions of traffic?
[Bi推 Daily Market Dynamics] The next target for BTC bulls: $67,000
Cayman Islands and the integration of Web3, DAOs, and DeFi companies
Interpretation of Binance Megadrop: How to participate in the first BounceBit
Talking about Token2049 Conference: Downpour, Compliance, AI, and Discourse
