Metaverse Tokens AXS, SAND Plummet as Meta Reports $10B Loss

2 years ago

Metaverse-related tokens took a deed successful the past 2 days arsenic Meta, formerly known arsenic Facebook, reported a $10 cardinal nonaccomplishment connected its augmented and virtual world part successful an net merchandise earlier this week.

The metaverse broadly refers to a virtual satellite successful which radical tin interact arsenic they bash successful the existent world, but digitally.

Tokens of blockchain-based games Axie Infinity (AXS), The Sandbox (SAND), and Gala (GALA) fell arsenic overmuch arsenic 12% successful the past 24 hours, continuing a descent since Wednesday night.

In aboriginal Asian hours connected Thursday, AXS fell to nether $46 earlier somewhat recovering to $49 successful day hours. It traded implicit $53 earlier Meta’s net merchandise connected Wednesday. AXS present sits astatine enactment levels past seen successful September, earlier the tokens began a multi-month tally to all-time highs of $162 successful November.

AXS tested enactment levels astatine $49. (TradingView)

The driblet successful token prices was coupled with falling idiosyncratic enactment connected Axie Infinity, crypto probe steadfast Delphi Digital found, partially successful transportation with the game’s autochthonal creaseless emotion potion (SLP) tokens.

“As SLP prices dip, players endure arsenic they cannot gain arsenic overmuch erstwhile compared to a fewer months back,” Delphi analysts said successful a note. “At its peak, a subordinate could person earned $35 per time connected July 21 vs $1 contiguous astatine existent prices (assuming 100 SLP/day). This has led galore players to halt playing arsenic the income has been reduced massively.”

Price-charts for SAND and GALA amusement akin woes. SAND prices dropped 50 cents aft Meta’s net release, declining arsenic overmuch arsenic 10% successful a 24 hr play connected Thursday. GALA dipped to $0.18 from $0.20 successful the aforesaid period. Both tokens gained somewhat successful Asian greeting hours connected Friday alongside a betterment successful the broader crypto market.

SAND fell to enactment levels astatine $3.50. (TradingView)

The metaverse conception has gained traction successful the past year, alongside the emergence of non-fungible tokens (NFT). Metaverse iterations widen from electronics elephantine Samsung opening a pop-up store successful Decentraland to crypto exchanges FTX.US and Binance.US setting up offices successful Solana-based Portals.

But world has been much sobering. Metaverse games proceed to cater to a niche successful the crypto market, portion virtual world divisions similar Meta’s Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) heap connected losses.

Are metaverse tokens and metaverse stocks correlated?

Some developers accidental the marketplace show of accepted companies focused connected the metaverse could thrust correlations successful metaverse-based tokens.

"There surely is simply a correlation betwixt the occurrence of Meta with its metaverse efforts and the perceived imaginable of metaverse/play-to-earn projects and tokens,” explained Adrian Krion, CEO of blockchain gaming level Spielworks, successful an email to CoinDesk.

“There's been a surge of involvement successful the abstraction since Facebook's rebranding, truthful immoderate setback successful Facebook's metaverse strategy volition straight interaction the marketplace cognition of different metaverses,” Krion added.

Others accidental metaverse tokens are a proxy stake for investors until metaverse stocks summation much traction.

“Without wide inferior for the worth of the metaverse tokens, it serves arsenic a proxy for investor's sentiments connected the aboriginal of the metaverse,” said Vincent Choy, ecosystem designer of Oz Finance, successful an email to CoinDesk. “I judge that determination volition correlation betwixt the tokens and stocks until the manufacture matures a batch more.”

The Facebook Reality Labs (FRL) part made $2.3 cardinal successful gross successful 2021, a fraction of the implicit $116 cardinal generated from Meta’s assorted businesses, specified arsenic Facebook, photo-sharing exertion Instagram and messaging level WhatsApp.

Meta isn’t retreating contempt the losses. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday the company's metaverse developments see releasing a high-end virtual world headset by the extremity of the twelvemonth and that the institution would proceed to enactment connected "Nazare," a brace of afloat augmented world glasses.

DISCLOSURE

The person successful quality and accusation connected cryptocurrency, integer assets and the aboriginal of money, CoinDesk is simply a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict acceptable of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an autarkic operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests successful cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As portion of their compensation, definite CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, whitethorn person vulnerability to DCG equity successful the signifier of stock appreciation rights, which vest implicit a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to acquisition banal outright successful DCG.

Shaurya is an analyst/editor for CoinDesk's markets squad successful Asia.


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