Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have recently underperformed cryptocurrencies with smaller market caps as sentiment has improved in the broader crypto markets due to encouraging macroeconomic data.
Decentraland’s (MANA) native token saw a rise on Friday as metaverse tokens saw their best performance since the year’s beginning.
At the time of publication, MANA was trading at $0.545, up 33% over the previous day. According to cryptocurrency price tracker CoinMarketcap, the token has increased by almost 70% in the past week as it started a winning streak in 2023.
On Thursday, Decentraland unveiled brand-new user features, which coincided with the price increase. According to a tweet from Decentraland, the upgrade adds new avatar and profile options.
The update does not alter the value proposition of the MANA token or directly boost the number of Decentraland users. Other significant metaverse tokens have experienced strong growth over the past week and 24 hours.
The Sandbox’s native SAND has increased by 18% over the past day and by 49% over the past week. The AXS token of play-to-earn juggernaut Axie Infinity has increased 38% over the previous week and 17% over the past 24 hours.
MyNeighborAlice unexpectedly increased by 16% in just one hour. ALICE has increased by 19% during the previous day, while the token has increased by 37% over the past week. Magic (MAGIC) has increased by 26% over the previous day and by 45.03% over the past week.
Leading the surge among gaming tokens is GALA, which has gained 26% over the past 24 hours and is still up more than 130% for the month. The performance of GALA is notable given its triple-digit gains.
The price increase of gaming and metaverse tokens, a high-risk sector that gained prominence during the final stages of the 2021 bull market, may portend a resurgence of risk in the cryptocurrency market.
Leaders in the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have only seen small advances of 6% and 2% over the past day.
BTC records the largest short liquidations since July 2021, according to on-chain data. The bitcoin price rose above the $19,000 level to reach $20,000 today and hit a two-month peak in the process. The latest surge came as traders continued to react to Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report.
At the time of publication, BTC was changing hands at $19,962, up 6% in the last 24 hours after reaching highs of $20,000. According to Coinglass data, Bitcoin liquidations in the previous 24 hours stand at $35.37 million.
Image Credit: Shutterstock
Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.
