WHAT IS THE METAVERSE, EXACTLY?
Metaverse, Nearly everybody has heard of this word from some place or the other. It could be a sci-fi flick or it could be from the newspaper these days. Is it something real or is it just another popular video game? Everybody is talking about it, from pop stars to big-shot investment managers across the world. But what is metaverse exactly?
Broadly speaking, it is a term that includes virtual reality, characterised by the presence of a virtual world that continues to exist even when you’re not actively playing the ‘game’ like Fortnite. It can also include augmented reality – something that combines the aspects of both digital and physical worlds – for example this once-popular game called ‘Pokemon Go’.
Now, in the crypto sense of the word – it is a virtually created world that exists on a blockchain and works on the principles of a blockchain network. Hence it derived value from the fact that it adheres to those values and principles. These metaverse projects include Decentraland, The Sandbox, Axis Infinity and the likes. This article will get deeper into the top metaverse crypto projects you should look out for in 2023.
Also Read: Top Crypto Games To Play
|
Sr No. |
Top Metaverse Projects |
About |
| 1 | APECOIN (APE) | Serves a multitude of purposes in the ecosystem created by Yuga Labs. |
| 2 | DECENTRALAND (MANA) | 3D virtual world, browser based platform used to purchase virtual plots of land in the platform in the form of NFTs using its native token, MANA built on Ethereum Blockchain. |
| 3 | THE SANDBOX (SAND) | 3D blockchain based to create, buy and sell in-game creations as NFTs. |
| 4 | AXIE INFINITY (AXS) | Most popular for its in-game economy which uses Ethereum-based (ERC-20) cryptos. |
| 5 | ENJIN COIN (ENJ) | Blockchain based games which are linked to the Enjin ecosystem. |
| 6 | WAX (WAXP) | Built with the objective of staking WAXP to accumulate staking rewards. |
| 7 | PLAYDAPP (PLA) | PLA is a ERC-20 token used as in-game currency for PlayDapp ecosystem. |
| 8 | YIELD GUILD GAMES (YGG) | Play-to-earn gaming guilt that claims to bring players together to earn via blockchain-based virtual economies. |
| 9 | METAHERO (HERO) | Revolves around creating HD avatars of real world objects and people using 3D scanning. |
| 10 | STAR ATLAS (ATLAS) | Grand strategy game of space exploration, territorial conquest, political domination, and more. |
1. APECOIN (APE)
Launched on 17 March, 2022 – this is one of the more recent metaverse coins to enter the crypto space, but quite literally has taken the industry by storm. Soon after it was launched and airdropped to BAYC NFT holders, the creator of Bored Ape Match Club NFT collection – Yuga Labs announced that would be launching a metaverse crypto project running with the ApeCoin token. This news, which broke towards the end of April 2022 catapulted the value of the token and for a while it had become the largest metaverse coin by market cap.
This particular metaverse project that it is now governed by a DAO and anyone holding the coin is allowed to cast their vote on the relevant governance decisions. As of writing, ApeCoin is also the most valued metaverse token out there with a market cap of just shy of $1.5 billion.
In terms of utility, ApeCoin serves a multitude of purposes in the ecosystem created by Yuga Labs. Apart from participating in the DAO, it also gives holders access to exclusive games, events, merchandise and services. It can also be used for payments via the Ethereum blockchain thanks to it being a ERC-20 token. The coin is also already in use as NFT rewards, and holders with the BAYC receive free APE that they can immediately cash.
Check out latest Apecoin Price Prediction 2023
2. DECENTRALAND (MANA)
The next metaverse project on the list of top metaverse projects for 2023 is Decentraland. Decentraland is a 3D virtual world, browser based platform. Users on Decentraland can purchase virtual plots of land in the platform in the form of NFTs using its native token, MANA which runs on the Ethereum blockchain. It was built by Ari Meilich and Esteban Ordano and has been in the works since 2015 and was finally launched in February 2020. It is overseen by a non-profit firm called the Decentraland Foundation.
However, its token was launched during the great ICO boom (initial coin offering) of 2017 and had managed to raise $26 million. During the recent 2021 bull run, and even in early 2022 – major brands began to appear in Decentraland metaverse crypto projects or bought “properties” in it.
These include Samsung, Adidas, Atari, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Miller Lite, and Sotheby’s held its first metaverse auction, and in March 2022, Decentraland hosted Metaverse Fashion Week in which major fashion brands appeared, including Dolce & Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, Elie Saab, Nicholas Kirkwood, Perry Ellis, Imitation of Christ, and Estée Lauder. Music artists including Deadmau5 and Grimes held concerts in the platform.
Read more MANA Price Prediction
3. THE SANDBOX (SAND)
The Sandbox has a slightly older history than most other blockchain based metaverse projects out there in the crypto market. It originally started as a 2D open-world sandbox game first released for iOS devices back in May 2012 and for Android the following year. It was developed by Pixowl initially but later it was acquired by Animoca Brands in August 2018. Soon after the acquisition, they shifted their focus towards a 3D blockchain based version of the game. This new version allowed users to create, buy and sell in-game creations as NFTs.
A beta version of The Sandbox Marketplace was launched in April 2021, allowing users to purchase in-game NFTs from 46 artists. At the time, The Sandbox had partnerships with brands like The Smurfs, CryptoKitties, and Shaun the Sheep. Later in 2021, it announced partnerships with The Walking Dead and rapper Snoop Dogg. This makes Sandbox as one of the best metaverse crypto project to look out for in 2023.
Read more MANA vs SAND
Watch our latest video on Decentraland Tutorial
4. AXIE INFINITY (AXS)
Axie Infinity is a non-fungible token based online video game developed by Sky Mavis in March of 2018, a Vietnamese gaming studio. It is most popular and one of the best metaverse crypto project for its in-game economy which uses Ethereum-based (ERC-20) cryptos. Axie Infinity players can collect and mint NFTs which represent digital pets known as ‘Axis’. These so-called pets can be bred and battled with each other within the game.
One of the revenue models for Sky Mavis includes charging a 4.25% transaction fee to players when they trade Axies on its marketplace. This also happened to be one of the most popular crypto based gaming and metaverse projects back during the Covid-19 pandemic but since then has lost quite a bit.
The virtual world of Axie Infinity is built on the Ronin Network, an Ethereum-linked side chain developed by Sky Mavis. There are two main tokens associated with this world – Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). While SLP is a token that is created within the game and is awarded to players on winning PVP matches, AXS is primarily a governance token that is allotted to holders and top players which can be staked or used to implement new protocols in the network.
SLP has no cap on the number of coins in circulation, hence eventually it lost its monetary value while AXS only has a limited number of token that will ever exist, like any other major crypto and thus we will be talking about that coin in this article.
However there are a few things you need to be wary of in Axie Infinity. Axie Infinity became incredibly popular, especially when Covid-19 struck and this became a way for people who lost their jobs to earn a good amount of income just by playing a game. However, it has had its fair share of trouble. In March 2022 – hackers compromised the Ronin Network, stealing approximately $620 million worth of AXS and ETH tokens from the project.
This was a major blow to stakeholders, investors and players alike and resulted in a loss of faith, which was evident on the price charts too. It has lost nearly 92% of its value from the beginning of 2022, at the start of the bear market. This is significantly worse than most of the other major cryptos out there.
Read more Axie Infinity Price Prediction
5. ENJIN COIN (ENJ)
Enjin Coin is an Ethereum-based token. You can use this to purchase assets in several metaverses linked to the Enjin ecosystem. Their website lists out a bunch of blockchain based games which are linked to the Enjin ecosystem. It enables you to purchase NFTs and other collectibles from those particular blockchain games making it one of the top metaverse crypto projects in 2023.
Whereas most top metaverse coins are linked to just their parent metaverse projects, Enjin Coin can prove great value due to its affiliations with many networks. You can store Enjin on any Ethereum crypto wallet, like Metamask. And it has its own Enjin wallet to store NFTs of affiliated projects.
Enjin coin, despite its multi-pronged use-cases and good project developments, this coin too has been a victim of the broader market bearish cues and has lost over 90% of its value since its ATH. However, if the broader market recovers, with the NFT and metaverse segment getting a boost, this coin is bound to recover too.
Disclaimer: The subsequent additions on this list are good metaverse projects however it must be known that the risk of exit scams and hacking vulnerabilities remain high for these particular projects. These have been included for awareness purposes only.
Read more about: Top Crypto Projects in 2023
6. WAX (WAXP)
WAXP is also considered to be one of the best upcoming metaverse coins native to the WAX blockchain. WAX Metaverse crypto project was built with the objective of staking WAXP to accumulate staking rewards and additionally also gives holders governance powers in future proposals.
Along with all that, WAXP can also be used on the multitude of games on the WAX blockchain. The in-game assets trade as NFTs that you can sell to earn profits out of. And finally, as a cherry on top – to incentivise trading NFTs on the carbon-neutral WAX blockchain, they have kept all trading transaction fees as zero.
According to Coinmarketcap, WAX’s crypto token, WAXP is ranked 128 and has a market cap of $194 million.
7. PLAYDAPP (PLA)
PLA is yet another ERC-20 token, the in-game currency for PlayDapp ecosystem of blockchain based games. This collection of games has interoperable assets. You can play with your collected asset, upgrade it and even list it for sale on the marketplace to earn a profit. However, like all other metaverse marketplace transactions, the buying and selling of assets carries a transaction fee which is divided between the company and the game developers.
According to Coinmarketcap, PlayDapp’s crypto token, PLA is ranked 149 and has a market cap of $145 million.
8. YIELD GUILD GAMES (YGG)
YGG is another play-to-earn metaverse crypto project for gaming guilt that claims to bring players together to earn via blockchain-based virtual economies. It is basically a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) that invests in non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are utilised in virtual works and blockchain-based games on the platform.
Priced at $0.63, this is a metaverse token that has a market cap of $74 million and is ranked 286 on Coinmarketcap.
9. METAHERO (HERO)
This is a relatively newer member in the space and this metaverse crypto project revolves around creating HD avatars of real world objects and people using 3D scanning. To that end, this company has installed a scanning chamber in Doha that scans objects and creates their digital, 3D form for the Metahero metaverse.
The crypto HERO, its native token, has a market cap of $43 million as of July 2022 and is ranked at 392. Although that’s comparatively smaller than other tokens on this list, that’s because this metaverse crypto project is very new.
10. STAR ATLAS (ATLAS)
Star Atlas is a metaverse crypto project based on the popular game which goes by the same name. It is grand strategy game of space exploration, territorial conquest, political domination, and more. The game shows the future — the year 2620 to be exact — where players can conquer land and collect resources in a highly futuristic setting.
The game involves a token, ATLAS, which can will be earned by playing the game – quite similar to other blockchain based gaming reward system. Currently ATLAS is valued at $0.0063 with a market cap of $13.8 million.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we can all agree that the metaverse industry as a whole is at a very nascent stage. It will require some more time to gain more substance and definition before it can actually solve real-world problems. But it is undeniable that Metaverse will be the next big thing in 2023 and ahead – that will revolution the internet and how humans operate in the world today. This is why major corporations are still pouring millions of dollars into building for this Metaverse space and thus as a participant in the crypto market in 2023 – you need to be aware of these projects!
SO, HOW CAN YOU INVEST INTO METAVERSE COINS?
Today investing in metaverse coins is extremely simple with the CoinDCX App! Just download the CoinDCX App crypto investing app, enter the details required and wait for your profile to get verified. Once done, fund your wallet and buy any metaverse coin of your choice which include APE, MANA, SAND, ENJ, AXS & many more.
