The bullish run continues in the blockchain gaming sector and we have a report to back it up. The first month of 2023 flew by in a wink but the Web3 gaming sector has utilized it to its fullest. According to market analysis firm DappRadar, gaming accounted for 48% of all blockchain activity in January, a rise from 45% in the previous month of December. In January 2023, the number of daily unique active wallets in gaming reached 839,436. The numbers indicate that many users made transactions in blockchain games during the month.
DappRadar Report on January 2023
According to DappRadar’s latest report, the growth in gaming activity is a positive sign for the long-term prospects of blockchain gaming. However, the low number of users suggests that blockchain gaming still has a long way to go before it becomes widely adopted.
The report read, “The game alphas and updates keep coming in the blockchain space, and there is a growing sense of excitement and anticipation for what the future holds.” “As the sector continues to mature, we can expect to see even more exciting developments in the months to come.”
The outlook may appear optimistic, given the current state of the cryptocurrency market and the global economic recession. Nevertheless, relative to the challenging conditions of 2022, it is time for some optimism in the blockchain gaming industry. There is a possibility that the situation may be improving.
According to DappRadar, the start of 2023 has been marked by a bullish trend, especially in the NFT market. The significant growth and increased activity in on-chain metrics indicate a thriving and promising quarter for NFTs. The total value locked in blockchain protocols (DeFi TVL) reached $74.6 billion, a rise of 26.8% from the previous month.
The NFT Market Recovery
The NFT market saw $941 million in trading volume and 9.2 million in sales count. Polygon was the standout performer, with a 124% increase in trading volume and 157.39% increase in sales count. This was driven by the popularity of its NFT collections such as Collect Donald Trump Cards and the launch of Mocaverse Realm Ticket Pass.
Opensea saw a 66.58% rise in trading volume, reaching $495 million in January 2023, which accounts for 58% of the total NFT market trading volume. Additionally, the amount lost due to exploits in January 2023 was $14.6 million, the lowest recorded since January 2022. DappRadar views these data points as evidence of a recovery.
The NFT market showed signs of recovery in January 2023 with a boost in NFT trading volume and sales count. The NFT trading volume recorded a 37% increase from the previous month, reaching $941 million, which is the highest recorded since June 2022. The sales count of NFTs also rose by 38% from the previous month to 9.2 million.
Ethereum continues to lead the NFT market with a market dominance of 78.5%. Its trading volume saw a significant increase of 37.29% in January 2023, reaching $659 million. Additionally, the sales count of Ethereum-based NFTs rose 7.37% from the previous month to over 2 million. The growth of the Ethereum ecosystem is largely attributed to the success of Yuga Labs’ NFT collections, particularly the highly popular Sewer Pass access pass NFT for an online game.
Unique Active Wallets Stats January 2023
In January, the number of active gaming wallets increased, however, the number of daily unique active wallets decreased, falling 9.55% to 1,730,542 in comparison to December.
In January, WAX was the most widely used blockchain. The gaming and NFT blockchain saw an average of 394,480 daily unique active wallets, a rise of 3.39% from the previous month. The top dapps on the WAX blockchain were the blockchain game Alien Worlds and the NFT marketplace Atomic Assets.
Polygon came in third place with 191,985 daily unique active wallets. Despite making a significant impact late in 2022, the blockchain ecosystem saw a 5.22% decrease from the previous month. The most popular dapps on Polygon were Benji Bananas and Planet IX.
Planet IX had a successful month, experiencing a 44% increase to reach 141,580 daily unique active wallets. Hive came in fourth place, seeing a 12.31% rise to reach 182,800 daily unique active wallets. The trading card game Splinterlands dominated the activity on Hive. It saw a 5.87% increase in its daily unique active wallets, reaching 340,520.
Solana Blockchain Recovers
In January, the best-performing blockchain was Solana. It experienced a 70% increase, it reached an average of 53,683 daily unique active wallets. The growth was driven by the growing usage of Solana DeFi dapps such as Raydium, MeanFi, Saber, and Orca. According to DappRadar, it appears that the Solana ecosystem is recovering from the impact of the FTX collapse. This could mean a lot of positives for blockchain games.
Solana experienced a 57.33% growth in its total value locked (TVL) to reach $548 million, according to the latest analysis. The success of Marinade Finance, whose TVL rose by 84.32% over the previous 30 days to $152 million, helped to drive this growth. Users who deposit Solana (SOL) tokens with mSOL, a liquid staking derivative, are rewarded as part of a token incentive scheme launched by Marinade Finance. Additionally, Orca and Raydium saw gains in their TVL of 37% and 33%, respectively, for a total of $46 million and $38 million in TVL growth.
Ethereum Blockchain and UAWs in Blockchain Games
The daily average number of unique active wallets in the Ethereum ecosystem in blockchain games increased by 39% to 116,255. This surge comes from the growing popularity of NFT marketplaces like OpenSea and Manifold plus increased activity on these platforms.
Ethereum’s move to Proof-of-Stake (PoS) has sparked a growing interest in staking solutions, and Lido has seized the opportunity. Its fee revenue has closely aligned with Ethereum PoS earnings, as it directs the received ETH to the staking protocol
Although the overall daily unique active wallets in the industry decreased, NFT’s on-chain metrics indicate increased activity. It is a positive sign for the market.
OpenSea Remains the Leading NFT Marketplace for Blockchain Games
OpenSea maintained its lead in the NFT market with a 66.58% surge in NFT trading volume. It topped reaching $495 million in January 2023. This dominance of the NFT space was evident with OpenSea accounting for 58% of the total NFT trading volume. The trading volume and the 2.5% transaction fee charged by OpenSea resulted in an estimated revenue of $12.3 million.
DappRadar Concludes About Blockchain Games
“In conclusion, 2023 has started on a high note, with bullish on-chain metrics in the DeFi and NFT markets,” DappRadar said. “The decrease in money lost this month due to exploits, the lowest amount ever recorded in 2022, is a positive indication of the increase in blockchain security.”
“The upward trend in the NFT market and the growth of DeFi platforms give us reason to be optimistic about the future of the crypto market. With these promising developments, we can expect a recovery and continued growth in the coming months.”
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