In March 2024, Bitcoin continued to break records, successfully surpassing its mid-month low. Benefiting from the positive macroeconomic situation, the entire cryptocurrency market performed well. Meanwhile, the Game Developers Conference (GDC 2024) became another important driving force for the development of the blockchain gaming industry, contributing to a 24.1% increase in the market capitalization of blockchain game tokens and a 17.5% increase in daily active users. Game industry giants and public chains are 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. This user-friendly dashboard contains the most important statistics and indicators for the Web3 gaming industry and 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 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 fell 15.1% to $62,047 in the middle of the month, it recovered by the end of the month and closed at $69,656, with a monthly increase of 13.8%. In contrast, the rise of Ether was relatively stable, starting at $3,344 and closing at $3,648, with a 9.1% increase.
Data source: Bitcoin and Ethereum price trends – Footprint Analytics
The strong performance of the cryptocurrency market in March was mainly due to expectations of interest rate cuts despite strong overall economic performance. This prospect intensified inflation concerns and made assets such as Bitcoin and gold more attractive. The price fluctuations of Bitcoin were closely related to the performance of the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF. The mid-month price decline was mainly due to the slowing inflow of funds into the Bitcoin spot ETF and the reduced leverage of traditional traders. However, market expectations for the Bitcoin halving event in April maintained its upward momentum.
Although the rise of Ether was slightly lower than Bitcoin, it still maintained steady growth, partly due to the uncertain prospects of the approval of the U.S. spot ETF. The Kanun upgrade of Ethereum on March 13 aimed to reduce transaction costs and promote activities within its ecosystem.
In March, the AI industry became the focus of the market. Nvidia released the Blackwell GPU and GB200 superchip at the AI event GTC 2024, igniting enthusiasm in the U.S. and global stock markets and attracting widespread attention in the cryptocurrency market, driving the rise of the crypto AI sector.
Overview of the Blockchain Gaming Market
In March, the market capitalization of blockchain game 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 (GDC 2024). The conference further stimulated the activity of Web3 game developers and significantly increased market attention to game tokens.
Data source: Active game players’ market share – Footprint Analytics
Supported by market dynamics and major industry events, the number of daily active users (wallets) in March continued to grow, reaching 2.7 million, a 17.5% increase from February.
Data source: Daily active users of blockchain games – Footprint Analytics
However, although trading volume has rebounded since the third quarter of 2023, it has not reached the peak level of the second quarter of 2022.
Data source: Quarterly trading volume of blockchain games – Footprint Analytics
Public Chain Data for Blockchain Games
In March, game player rankings showed that Ronin, Polygon, and BNB Chain were the platforms with the most 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.
Data source: Active game players’ market share – Footprint Analytics
In terms of trading volume rankings, Ethereum, Ronin, and BNB Chain dominated. In March, Ronin’s trading volume reached $81.7 million, a 35.1% increase from the previous month, while BNB Chain experienced a 13% decline. Ronin’s market share has been expanding strongly with less than 10 games. With the continuous addition of new games to Ronin, its growth potential is expected to further increase.
Data source: Popular games on Ronin – Footprint Analytics
Competition in the public chain field is becoming increasingly fierce, with major public chains increasing their investments to promote the prosperity of the Web3 gaming ecosystem. The Arbitrum Foundation announced a proposal to distribute 200 million $ARB tokens over two years to support game projects on its blockchain. Of these, 160 million $ARB will be allocated to game publishers and developers, and the remaining funds will be used to improve infrastructure. This proposal requires approval from the Arbitrum DAO.
Meanwhile, the Starknet Foundation is also taking active action by establishing a dedicated gaming 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 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 gaming and blockchain fields to search for 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 expecting major breakthroughs to significantly increase user engagement.
Data source: Monthly active blockchain games – Footprint Analytics
In this context, a question arises: will the popular game Notcoin this month become a game changer that the market is looking forward to? This simple click game, based on the Telegram messaging app, has attracted over 35 million players in just a few months. Players only need to interact with the Notcoin bot on Telegram, invite friends, and start the game to earn game coins. However, what prompts 35 million users to invest in this seemingly simple “click to earn game coins” game? The answer lies in the upcoming airdrop activity. Notcoin announced that it will migrate its massive 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 elements such as game mechanics, equipment, and data are not, can a game be called a “blockchain game”?
Meanwhile, several games and platforms with impressive performance emerged in March. Among them, the token $GALA from Gala Games had a surge of 69.6%. Gala is committed to building a massive AAA game platform that gives players unprecedented freedom, control, and rewards.
On the other hand, Illuvium, an open-world fantasy battle game based on Ethereum, also made significant progress by successfully completing a $12 million Series A funding round. Positioned as the first AAA game on Ethereum, Illuvium stands out with its full 3D environment, contrasting with other blockchain games. In March, its $ILV token value increased by 18.2%.
Data source: Illuvium
Investment and Financing Situation in the Blockchain Game Industry
The game industry has experienced an investment boom, raising a total of $151 million, an 80.6% increase, involving 26 rounds of financing. This significant growth highlights the continued favor and high attention of capital to the industry.
Blockchain game financing events in March 2024 (data source: crypto-fundraising.info)
Public chains, as the infrastructure of the industry, are actively consolidating their positions and promoting ecological expansion through investment in game projects. Among them, Solana performed exceptionally well, with its subsidiary Solana Ventures investing in Parallel, and the Solana Foundation providing funding to Elixir Games. Parallel, with a financing amount of up to $35 million, became the project with the largest financing scale that month.
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, making it the second-largest financing project in March 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 have also been active. a16z Crypto supported MyPrize and MadWorld, while Animoca Brands supported Illuvium, MetaCene, and game infrastructure Param Labs.
Key Developments of the Month
Ubisoft will become a validator for the XPLA ecosystem.
Web3 gaming platform Pebble, a subsidiary of South Korean game giant NHN, has reached a strategic partnership with Footprint Analytics.
Blockchain game Saga announced the establishment of the Saga Origins Web3 game publishing department.
Sony is seeking a patent for “super fungible” game tokens.
South Korean game company Nexon revealed that the blockchain version of its game MapleStory Universe will abandon Polygon and switch to Avalanche.
This article is for industry research and communication purposes only and does not constitute any investment advice. The market carries risks, and investment should be cautious.
About Footprint Analytics
Footprint Analytics is a blockchain data solutions provider. With cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology, it offers the first no-code data analysis platform and unified data API for the Crypto domain, allowing users to quickly retrieve NFT, Game, and wallet address fund flow 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 datasets provided by Footprint
– Follow us on Twitter (Footprint_Data) for more product updates.
Tags:
DeFi, GameFi, social, metaverse
WEB3
cryptocurrency
funding
market trends
Source: https://www.bitpush.news/articles/6585316
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