Axie Infinity leads with more than 45% gains
As Bitcoin strengthens above $22K, a rally in metaverse tokens has pushed the total crypto market cap back above $1 trillion.
Bitcoin holds steady above $22K
Axie Infinity is the top performer with an explosive 45% weekly gains, leading the market higher on hopes that crypto winter could be coming to an end. This optimism is driven by the observation that bad headlines seem to have lost their ability to impact prices, with cryptoassets rallying even as one of the largest crypto lenders files for a long-feared bankruptcy, and the stock market stalls on global economic uncertainty.
AXS up 45%
This week’s biggest gainer, Axie Infinity, has now added 125% since the start of the year, while Metaverse favorite Decentraland has gained a total of 149% in the same period. Close behind, Curve is up 100% in 2023, having added more than 30% in the last week on excitement about the project’s dollar-pegged stablecoin.
This Week’s Highlights
– Metaverse gains momentum as Axie Infinity jumps 45%
– Shiba soars 14% on Shibarium launch
Metaverse gains momentum as Axie Infinity jumps 45%
The metaverse was in the spotlight again last week, as global elites discussed digital transformation at Davos and Apple announced a budget mixed reality headset.
In response, the token for Pokémon-like game Axie Infinity rallied 45% over the week, while Immutable X added 19% on news that NFT game Tiny Colony will move away from Solana to build on the Layer 2 blockchain.
Lagging behind, metaverse rivals The Sandbox and Decentraland also pushed into the green with smaller percentage gains.
Shiba soars 14% on Shibarium launch
In an effort to distinguish itself from rival Dogecoin, Shiba Inu is building a canine-themed Layer 2 network which will run atop the Ethereum blockchain.
Shibarium, as the network is called, will enable developers to build and launch decentralized applications that offer lower fees and higher levels of scalability.
News of the Shibarium beta triggered a 14% rally for Shiba Inu last week, helping the token outpace Dogecoin to become the top-performing meme coin of 2023 so far.
Week ahead
Bitcoin’s correlation with tech stocks could be tested in the week ahead, as the likes of Microsoft, IBM, and Tesla report their earnings.
Other factors that could potentially influence the market include growing chatter about an economic downturn, and the US government hitting its debt limit.
Nonetheless, recent weeks have shown that crypto is powerful enough to overcome even the most negative headlines.