Tag: Messari

Messari: Fantom FTM Market Cap Declined 36% in Q2 2023

by Blockchain News

According to a report released by Messari, Fantom faced a decline in daily active addresses by 18% QoQ, while new unique addresses grew by 146% QoQ, coinciding with increased activity on LayerZero and Galxe. Daily transactions decreased by 24.4% QoQ.

The market cap declined 36% QoQ after the SEC took regulatory actions against Coinbase and Binance.US. Total Value Locked (TVL) in USD dropped 46% QoQ, and revenue in FTM increased by 35% (+22% in USD terms), while network value decreased by 36.1% QoQ.

Proposal 34 was passed to reduce the minimum stake required to validate from 500,000 FTM to 50,000 FTM, aiming to increase staking participation and decentralization. Active validators were 61, with a total staked of 1.3 billion FTM (~$400 million).

Several ecosystem growth initiatives were established, including the Ecosystem Vault, which amassed ~530,000 FTM by Q2 2023, and the Gas Monetization Program, launched in beta in Q2 2023, with over a dozen applications joining.

In the DeFi space, there was a significant decline in TVL due to concerns about Multichain in May. NFT secondary sales volume increased by 26% QoQ. Gaming is in its early stages, with several developer tools rolled out. Galxe emerged as a leading social application, growing its quarterly total of UAWs from 966,000 in Q1 to 3.4 million (+255%) QoQ.

Development activity saw unique smart contracts grow by 155% QoQ. Full-time developers decreased from 25 to 21 QoQ, while part-time developers increased from 44 to 56 QoQ.

Looking ahead, Fantom plans to introduce a new StateDB storage system, Fantom Virtual Machine (FVM), and account abstraction. These technological advancements are part of Fantom’s commitment to remain competitive through continuous building and expansion.

Fantom’s mixed Q2 2023, with growth in new unique addresses but a decline in daily active addresses and market cap, reflects strategic responses to regulatory actions and concerns about Multichain. With wide-reaching plans, including significant network upgrades and growth strategies, Fantom is positioning itself for a robust future in the crypto space.

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The Sandbox Q2 2023 Report: 59% Increase in NFT Mints, 52% Rise in Primary Sales, 15% Fall in Revenue in Q2

by Blockchain News

The Sandbox, a leading gaming metaverse, posted a mixed performance in the second quarter of 2023, according to a report released by Messari. The platform saw a robust 59% QoQ increase in NFT mints, primary sales were up 52% QoQ, and active buyers grew 22% QoQ. However, total revenue fell 15% QoQ, despite a 30% increase in non-LAND primary sale volume and an 18% rise in ESTATE volume.

The SEC’s lawsuits against Coinbase and Binance, where SAND was classified as a security, could herald a new era of crypto regulation in the U.S. A recent court ruling on XRP adds complexity to the regulatory scenario.

The Sandbox announced collaborations with brands like Paris Hilton, Warner Music, and others. The roadmap includes new features such as self-publishing experiences by the end of Q3 2023 and the ability to create and rent ESTATEs in Q4 2023.

Daily SAND staked grew 5% QoQ, but fell as a percentage of the circulating supply by 2% QoQ. SAND’s fully diluted valuation hovered between $2.1 billion and $1.1 billion, ending the quarter at $1.22 billion.

Despite facing a tough quarter marked by a fall in revenue, staking rewards, and SAND price, The Sandbox continued to facilitate new partnerships and grow in key areas. The platform faces regulatory uncertainty but is positioned for potential growth.

The Sandbox is a gaming metaverse where players and creators can monetize 3D assets and experiences via NFTs. Initially launched as a 2D mobile game in 2012, it rebranded as a 3D metaverse game in 2018.

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Cosmos’ Osmosis Sees 43% Decrease in Trading Volumes in Q2 2023, Reported Messari

by Blockchain News

According to Messari, in Q2 2023, the Osmosis Protocol, a decentralized exchange (DEX) within the Cosmos ecosystem, experienced a decrease in volumes and users, each down over 25%. Despite this, Inter-Blockchain Communication (IBC) transfers remained a bright spot, bringing in nearly half a billion dollars in inflows to Osmosis.

The quarter saw a 43% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) decrease in trading volumes, with ATOM volumes falling to 15% of total volume, its lowest share ever. “USDC made up 14.9% of volume in Q2, its lowest in the last four quarters,” which is expected to change with the introduction of native USDC to the Cosmos network.

Average daily liquidity on Osmosis has been trending lower since Q1 2022, with a 17.9% fall from the previous quarter in Q2 2023. Despite this, “depositors remained patient in Q2, as average daily yield from trading fees fell to 3.8% (daily fees per unit of TVL, compounding daily) from 5.6% in Q1.”

Transaction counts of every type fell in Q2, with governance-related activity seeing the largest QoQ decline. Voting and Osmosis staking transactions were down 71% and 55%, respectively, accounting for nearly a third of the fall in transactions counts in the quarter. However, transactions related to the core product, with IBC transfers and swaps, fell only 21% and 23%, respectively.

Despite a year of subdued value flows, “over $466 million was transferred to Osmosis via the IBC network in Q2.” Total IBC transfer volume on Osmosis fell 4% from the previous quarter to $2.1 billion transferred.

On June 19, Osmosis unveiled its next development phase, OSMO 2.0, which includes a revised tokenomics model aimed at improving the sustainability of the protocol and better aligning incentives. Key changes include a halving of the inflation rate, an extension of the emission timeline, a shift in emission allocation to incentivize long-term stakers, the introduction of a protocol revenue burn mechanism, and a fee share mechanism.

Despite the decrease in key metrics, the network continues to adapt and implement new strategies for its growth. The introduction of OSMO 2.0 demonstrates an ongoing commitment to sustainability and better alignment of incentives, which could set the stage for a potential rebound in the coming quarters.

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Sia Network Q2 2023: 12% Increase in Used Storage

by Blockchain News

In the second quarter of 2023, the Sia network, a decentralized cloud storage platform, saw a 12% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) increase in used storage, raising the storage utilization rate from 19% to 25%, according to a report by Messari. This growth occurred despite a 3% QoQ decrease in the addition of storage contracts, largely due to issues with third-party interfaces.

The Sia Foundation, the organization behind the Sia network, approved seven grants totaling $260,000 in Q2 2023. The largest grant, worth $94,000, was awarded to S5 Network and Apps for the development of a content-addressed storage network. The smallest grant, amounting to $5,000, went to SiaShare for the creation of a lightweight web service for encrypting, storing, and sharing files using the renterd interface.

Sia also made significant strides in its development roadmap. The beta version of its “hostd” application was published on GitHub. This application provides a user-friendly interface for storage providers, an API for managing storage resources and revenue, and an embedded web UI that enables providers to remotely manage storage operations. In a test comparison, hostd outperformed siad, the previous hosting module, with 1.4x faster download speeds and 20x faster upload speeds.

The alpha version of Sia’s “walletd” application was also published on GitHub. This application enables users to interact with Sia assets like SC and SF tokens on both hot and cold wallets. It also supports multi-signatures and hardware wallet integrations.

Despite the challenges faced in Q2 2023, including the shutdown of Skynet Labs and the temporary halt of storage uploads to Sia by Filebase, the Sia network demonstrated resilience and continued growth. The increase in storage utilization and the ongoing development of user-friendly applications indicate a positive outlook for the network.

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Messari Raises $35M in Series B Round

by Blockchain News

Blockchain-based data analytics platform, Messari has announced the successful completion of its Series B funding round in which it pulled $35 million. 

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The round was led by Brevan Howard Digital and enjoined participation from top investors, including Morgan Creek Digital, Samsung Next, FTX Ventures, and existing investors Point72 Ventures, Kraken Ventures, Uncork Capital, Underscore VC, Galaxy, and Coinbase Ventures.

Coming off as one of the most favoured data analytics platforms serving the crypto ecosystem nowadays, Messari landed $21 million in a Series A round in early August from investors led by Steve Cohen. The August round valued the company at $300 million.

As announced, the new funds will be used to bolster its growing team and fast-track the development of new products.

“We’re excited to welcome a remarkable group of investors as partners in our next phase of growth,” said Ryan Selkis, Messari’s Co-founder & CEO. “We are committed to providing investors, crypto enterprises, and token communities with the tools they need to participate in the crypto economy. This new funding will help us grow our team, expand internationally, and invest in new data offerings and tools that complete our market-leading product suite.”

In its growth track, Messari confirmed that it has launched two new products, including Protocol Metrics and Data Apps. As explained, Protocol Metrics will enable the customers of the data research platform to “compare assets across multiple networks through transparent data standardization and analyze the health, growth, and usage of a protocol.”

The Data App platform is ideal for users who want access to customized data sets. Messari said the release of the Data App platform would be in Beta at launch and that it will release the demo for both products at its forthcoming Mainnet 2022 summit. The summit started on Wednesday and will end on Friday, the 23rd.

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Is Axie Infinity overheating? AXS price hits record high following 100% QTD rally

by Cointelegraph

AXS, the native token of Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn nonfungible token (NFT) game built atop the Ethereum blockchain, rallied more than 100% on a quarter-to-date (QTD) timeframe to refresh a new record high above $155.

Nonetheless, the cryptocurrency now risks paring a portion of its recent gains as a key technical indicator, dubbed the relative strength index (RSI), flashes its overbought conditions. In doing so, it might correct below $90—almost a 40% drop.

The bearish outlook surfaces after studying the relationship between AXS’s price and its RSI readings. In detail, when the RSI rallies above 70, it mostly prompts AXS to either consolidate sideways or lower later.

But in either case, the token ends up testing its 20-day exponential moving average (20-day EMA; the green wave in the chart below) as an interim support level.

AXS/USD daily price chart featuring its response to RSI readings above 70. Source: TradingView.com

For instance, RSI closed above 70 three times since July 1, 2021, and each time prompted the price to hit its 20-day EMA within 7-30 days. That made buying AXS against an overbought RSI reading a risky preposition for traders, increasing their probability of facing short-term losses.

As a result, the Axie Infinity token could go through a similar bearish trajectory in the days/weeks ahead, with its next downside target sitting around $87. Nonetheless, if the price rallies further ahead, as happened after July’s overbought signal, AXS’s bearish target could move to or above $90.

Is HODLING a better strategy?

The 20-day EMA served as a buy indicator for traders following the RSI-led corrections. In detail, traders decided to buy the dip in anticipation that the AXS price would retest and close above its previous high levels.

Therefore, it is visible that traders who did not sell their AXS holdings during the price corrections towards 20-day EMA managed to earn decent paper profits—the Axie Infinity token has climbed more than 2,500% since July 1.

AXS’s growing utility inside the Axie Infinity virtual world, called Lunicia, has emerged as one of the primary catalysts behind its demand among gamers and traders. In detail, players maneuver colorful creatures called Axies to earn two kinds of tokens.

The first, known as Small Love Potions (SLP), is awarded for successful battles; it can be cashed out or be reused to breed new Axies. Meanwhile, the second token, AXS, can be earned by winning seasonal tournaments or selling Axies in Axie Infinity’s dedicated in-house marketplace.

As of Monday, Axie Infinity’s active users count tallied to 1.85 million, up over 4,500% since April, with its total cumulative revenue climbing to $815 million in the same period, as per Token Terminal. That made Sky Marvis, the firm behind Axie Infinity, the fifth most valuable video game company globally by market capitalization.

Top gaming companies in the world. Source: Messari

The strong fundamentals have intensified traders’ confidence in AXS, which explains its ability to bounce back every time after undergoing a sharp correction towards its 20-day EMA.

AXS staking service, DEX launch

The latest bout of buying in the Axie Infinity markets also surfaced due to a new feature that allows AXS holders to stake their tokens to earn yields. Since its launch on Sep 30, the staking feature has attracted more than 12.44 million AXS tokens (~$1.88 billion at current rates).

AXS staking dashboard. Source: Axie Infinity

Staking effectively takes active token supply out of circulation, which, against a rising demand for the asset, tends to push its prices higher. 

Related: Massive airdrop and AXS staking catapult Axie Infinity to a new all-time high

Meanwhile, Sky Mavis announced that it would launch a decentralized exchange (DEX) on Ethereum-linked sidechain Ronin. In doing so, the company aims to ensure faster AXS and SLP liquidity to players during gameplay without needing to rely on cross-chain bridges to purchase or swap tokens.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.