Axie Infinity Leads Metaverse, NFT Token Rally as Trade Volumes Surge

In the world of cryptocurrency, there are always winners and losers, and the past 24 hours have seen significant gains for several metaverse and NFT-focused cryptocurrencies. Among the top performers are Axie Infinity (AXS), Flow (FLOW), Apecoin (APE), and Sandbox (SAND). In this article, we’ll take a closer look at each of these tokens and what’s behind their recent price surges.

Metaverse and NFT-Focused Cryptocurrencies on the Rise: A Look at Axie Infinity (AXS), Flow (FLOW), Apecoin (APE), and Sandbox (SAND)

Axie Infinity (AXS)

Axie Infinity’s AXS governance token is the biggest gainer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, with a 25.6% increase in the past 24 hours, according to Coingecko. As of writing, AXS trades at around $8.54 and has a market capitalization just north of $970 million, making it the 46th-largest cryptocurrency. However, despite today’s gains, AXS has had a tumultuous 2022, losing almost 94.8% of its value from its all-time high of $164.90 in November 2021.

NFT data platform CryptoSlam reports that Axie Infinity’s trading volume has fluctuated between roughly $18,000 and as high as $48,000 over the past few weeks. Today’s bullish price action has resulted in approximately $20,000 in AXS short trades being liquidated in the past 24 hours, according to Coinglass.

Flow (FLOW)

The token powering the Flow blockchain has rallied more than 5.5% over the past 24 hours and currently trades at around $1.15, according to Coingecko. In August 2022, Instagram integrated Flow-based NFTs, driving the token’s price up to $3. However, FLOW has been on a downtrend since then, having lost 97.3% of its value since its all-time high of $42.40 in April 2021.

Apecoin (APE)

Apecoin is an Ethereum-based token created for the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) ecosystem. It has gained nearly 4% over the past 24 hours and trades at around $4.12 per Coingecko, making it the 34th-largest cryptocurrency. APE’s daily trading volumes rose 66% to $192 million over the past day.

Sandbox (SAND)

SAND is the token powering the virtual real estate project The Sandbox and is up 6.7% to $0.62 over the past 24 hours, participating in the widely driven NFT-based token rally. According to Coingecko, SAND gained nearly 9% over the past week. However, the bullish week hasn’t been strong enough to reverse its yearly losses, as SAND rallied as high as $8.40 in November 2021.

Axie’s NFT sales from November 21 to December 4. Source: CryptoSlam.

What’s Driving the Metaverse?

The primary reason behind the bullish price action of metaverse and NFT-related tokens is the rising sales volume over the past 24 hours. Overall NFT sales volume rose 20.75% in the last 24 hours to just above $16.5 million, according to data from CryptoSlam.

Ethereum-based NFTs saw a 31.36% spike in daily trading volumes, followed by Flow with 16.28%, likely contributing to the token’s latest rally. Yuga Lab’s NFT collections Otherdeed, Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), and Mutant Ape Yacht Club (MAYC) collectively made up roughly 40% of the Ethereum-based NFT’s trading volume, helping APE ride its fortunes.

Beyond NFT and metaverse tokens, leading cryptocurrencies in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) have also rallied 1.6% and 2.7% over the past 24 hours, respectively. The overall cryptocurrency market is also up 2%, amounting to more than $906 billion at press time.

Conclusion

The recent surge in the prices of metaverse and NFT-related tokens such as AXS, FLOW, APE, and SAND can be attributed to the increasing sales volume of NFTs in the market. While AXS, FLOW, APE, and SAND have all posted significant gains over the past 24 hours, their performance has been mixed over the long-term. Despite their recent bullish price action, investors should exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions. As always, the views expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice.

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