Metaverse Hype Remains Intact, But Trading Declined by 80%
- Decentraland and Sandbox are two of the biggest Metaverse platforms in 2022.
- Metaverse-based tokens lost about 60% of their value in Q3
- The floor price of virtual land experienced a significant drop in Q3.
- Over 1.12 million ENS domain names were registered in Q3, a 72% increase from Q2 figures.
- 33% of the $1.2 billion raised in Q3 was channeled at building metaverse infrastructure.
The metaverse was one of the biggest blockchain trends in 2021, attracting some of the world’s biggest brands, athletes, singers, and celebrities. Although the bear market has affected the price of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, many expected the metaverse to remain unscathed.
However, a report by blockchain analysis firm, DappRadar revealed that trade volumes in virtual metaverse worlds decreased by 91% in Q3 to just $90 million. In addition, the volume also decreased by around 80% for the top ten metaverse projects.
Recent reports have suggested that the metaverse industry has seen reduced user engagement, especially on platforms like Decentraland and Meta. However, both firms have denied such claims. But the DappRadar report shows that the metaverse might have retained its hype, but trade volumes are falling apart.
According to the report, land sales experienced a milder decline of 37.54%, indicating that interest in that sector isn’t dwindling as swiftly as the others. But the floor price for virtual lands dropped by 75%.
Giving a possible reason for the recent decline, DappRadar explained that lower trading volumes could simply reflect declining asset values and not necessarily indicate a lack of interest. It wrote,
We consider this a bullish sign because it shows that the hype for these types of projects hasn’t decreased. Instead, the fall of cryptocurrency prices has affected the projects’ overall trading volume instead of a lack of interest.
The DappRadar report noted that virtual world projects experienced a “calmer quarter” while the Sandbox and Decentraland retained their spots as some of the biggest metaverse platforms. According to DappRadar, Decentraland has enjoyed consistent blockchain activity for the past five months.
Since May, Decentraland has garnered an average of 792 unique active wallets thanks to Pride Week in June and Art Week in August. On the other hand, the Sandbox saw a 190% rise in sales count from Q2 to Q3, hitting 28,624. However, Alpha Season 3 was mostly responsible for this spike.
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