GameFi and NFTs Remain Strong Despite Crypto Decline: DappRadar Report

Crypto gaming and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are two sectors that are resilient in the face of declines in the digital asset markets, according to a new report from DappRadar.

In its latest “Blockchain User Behavior Report,” DappRadar finds that NFTs more or less ignored the dip in the overall crypto market, instead seeing a surge in new trading activity.

“NFTs were hardly affected by the dip in cryptocurrencies; the number of trades continued to increase constantly, while the UAW connected to Ethereum NFT dapps grew by 43% since Q3 2021.”

According to the research, Asia’s footprint is now the driving force behind the NFT user base and its adoption. The firm says China is now the country with most extensive user base with more than 204,000 people showing up in DappRadar’s traffic, a 166% increase from November. Traffic is also growing in Indonesia and India, with both countries doubling its numbers, according to the report.

“The Asian market continues to increase its footprint within the industry overall. With a high interest in blockchain games and the potential for NFTs, the Asian region is undoubtedly one to closely monitor.”

DappRadar says that the rise of decentralized finance (DeFi) was largely influenced by macroeconomic factors, while the rise of NFTs basically followed its own path and had its own macro events that affected its marketplace independently. Based on the firm’s data, the same can be said for blockchain gaming.

“Last year, we witnessed blockchain games’ rapid surge and adoption thanks to narratives like the play-to-earn or the metaverse. Like in NFTs, these trends externally affect their users and how they behave. In this case, the positive sentiment around these two narratives makes people want to participate in blockchain games.”

DappRadar says that we can observe a clear phenomena where NFTs and blockchain gaming behave independently from factors that affect the industry in a general manner such as global crypto trends. Its research suggests that while the NFT and crypto gaming sectors already performed amazingly in 2021, “it appears that the trend will continue.”

“While the price of cryptocurrencies is volatile by nature, the adoption, volumes, and usage of blockchain games and NFTs have only increased constantly. It will be interesting to see whether maturity in both spaces will generate sensitivity to the price of their underlying tokens.”