MANA makes 25% gains on metaverse mania
Bitcoin is bouncing back towards $58K after coronavirus uncertainty dashed prices on Black Friday.
Traditional markets and crypto plunged together on news that another Covid-19 variant had been detected in South Africa, putting Bitcoin briefly below $54K. China’s latest crypto crackdown was also blamed for the downturn, and some analysts even pointed towards the death of crypto-trading hamster Mr. Goxx. Regardless of the cause, the dip was a buying opportunity for El Salvador president Nayib Bukele, who scooped up 100 discounted Bitcoin for the country’s treasury.
Meanwhile, multiple altcoins proved to be immune to coronavirus panic. Basic Attention Token (BAT) bucked the downtrend to reach all-time highs of almost $2, while Metaverse token MANA added another 25% and Zcash made 18% gains.
This Week’s Highlights
- MANA makes 25% gains as Grayscale forecasts $1 trillion metaverse
- Zcash maintains bullish momentum
MANA makes 25% gains as Grayscale forecasts $1 trillion metaverse
Metaverse tokens MANA and Enjin made 25% and 7% gains respectively over the last week, driven by continued optimism about the metaverse and blockchain gaming.
Crypto asset manager Grayscale claimed on Thursday that the metaverse could one day deliver $1 trillion in annual revenue, following investment bank Morgan Stanley, which said that metaverse gaming and non-fungible tokens could grow to represent 10% of the total luxury goods market by 2030.
Taking advantage of the optimism, memecoin Shiba Inu attempted to muscle in on the metaverse with a new gaming venture, but failed to capture the enthusiasm with prices falling almost 10%.
Zcash maintains bullish momentum
Since announcing its transition to Proof of Stake, Zcash has risen 65%, with a jump of 17% in the last week alone.
The privacy coin’s momentum has been helped by Twitter commentators, with Digital Currency Group founder Barry Silbert tweeting about the cryptoasset, and whistleblower Edward Snowden praising Zcash as his favored alternative to Bitcoin.
Much of the excitement around the cryptoasset revolves around the role it could play in Decentralized Finance (DeFi), with a recent report from Grayscale suggesting it could become the default privacy coin for the entire ecosystem.
Week ahead
Although uncertainty about the emerging coronavirus strain continues to loom over the market, Bitcoin’s rapid recovery could set the stage for another swing higher in the week ahead.
In the world of altcoins, Binance Smart Chain is set to undergo a hard fork on Tuesday that could boost native cryptoasset BNB.