S1 2019: Overview of the blockchain gaming markets

We propose a complete analysis of this first half of 2019 in the universe of non-fungible tokens. This half-year situation aims to identify new trends, to measure the progress of the industry as a whole, but also to identify potential new players.

NFT Dataset analyzed

In order to build this analysis, we tracked the first 6 months of 2019, exactly 179 projects using the standard ERC-721 (so-called “NFT” projects for non fungible tokens), on the Ethereum Blockchain.

The ERC-721 standard and the Ethereum technology are currently the main vector of blockchain gaming development, so the data presented below are a realistic reflection of the state of the art of gaming blockchain, and use non-fungible tokens.

We focused on 3 major indicators that we find relevant to reporting on the overall situation of the industry:

• Weekly active addresses (How many people?)
• Weekly volume of interactions with the smart contract (How active are they?)
• Weekly volume of USD traded (How much are they investing?)

2018 VS. 2019 global trends

The average number of transactions per week increased by 11% between 2018 and 2019, for a 76% increase in the average number of active addresses.

These indicators are clearly a sign of community development and the crypto-gaming industry.

Conversely, the average amount traded per week fell significantly over 18 months, from nearly $7 million traded per week to less than $900,000. We explain this evolution through the proliferation of primary markets and sales. tokens in the first half of 2018 (notably Decentraland), then the gradual decline in NFT speculation between 2018 and 2019.

In a nutshell: 2018 was the year of acquisition of the assets, 2019 is the year of their use.

Key Indicator #1 – Active addresses

We are starting the analysis with active addresses, because we consider that the volume of the user base and the size of the gamer community is to date the best indicator to measure the health of the ecosystem.

The average trend in this first half of 2019 is around 10,000 active addresses per week.

MyCryptoHeroes had an excellent start to the year with peaks of more than 8,000 players per week before returning to a normative level of around 2,500 players / week, note that their community has been growing steadily since February.

February was the least active month for the industry with a total of 8,000 players / week.

The community of 0xUniverse has also been growing steadily since the beginning of the year, from around 600 active addresses / week to more than 2,000 at the end of June.

CryptoKitties remains a major player but has been largely overtaken by its two major competitors: MyCryptoHeroes and 0xUniverse.

Key Indicator #2 – USD traded

Trends are more difficult to read when analyzing dollar volumes traded. Some peaks can be explained quite easily. The OpenSea peaks:

• The peak of May can be explained by the sale of Formula 1-1-1 by F1 Delta Time for 415 ETH.
• The sale of Neon District’s Final Baus for 141 ETH

The peak Axie Infinity of January is explained by the Land Sale organized earlier this year.

We notice that the LAND resale market on Decentraland has lost a lot of speed, the average USD traded per week is very close to that of CryptoKitties, OpenSea, Gods Unchained or MyCryptoHeroes.

It is surprising to note that MyCryptoHeroes had the largest volume of dollars traded during the “hollow” period in terms of active addresses, in February.

Key Indicator #3 – Transaction volume

We observe significant volatility in transaction volumes over the period, with regular fluctuations between 100,000 and 200,000 transactions per week.

These fluctuations are measured on regular cycles ranging from 3 to 4 weeks.

Just like the USD traded indicator, February was particularly quiet in terms of trading volume.

By project:

• The volume of 0xUniverse has increased throughout the year, from 11,000 to 29,000 transactions per week on average
• CryptoKitties had a steady decline over 6 months from an average of 72,000 to about 37,000 transactions a week
• MyCryptoHeroes, CryptoKitties and 0xUniverse account for a little over 65% of all the transactions of the 178 projects analyzed, confirming the dominant position of these games.

Crossed analysis #1 – Transactions VS. USD traded

Correlation Coefficient of the two variables Volume of Transactions / USD traded:

Reminder: the correlation coefficient is a number between +1 and −1 calculated so as to represent the linear interdependence of two variables or sets of data. A coefficient close to 1 indicates a strong positive correlation, close to -1 a strong negative correlation. A coefficient close to 0 indicates a lack of correlation.

Crossed analysis #2 – Transactions VS. Active Addresses

Correlation Coefficient of the two variables Volume of Transactions / Active Addresses:

Reminder: the correlation coefficient is a number between +1 and −1 calculated so as to represent the linear interdependence of two variables or sets of data. A coefficient close to 1 indicates a strong positive correlation, close to -1 a strong negative correlation. A coefficient close to 0 indicates a lack of correlation.

Crossed analysis #3 – USD traded VS. Active Addresses

Correlation Coefficient of the two variables USD traded / Active Addresses: 

Reminder: the correlation coefficient is a number between +1 and −1 calculated so as to represent the linear interdependence of two variables or sets of data. A coefficient close to 1 indicates a strong positive correlation, close to -1 a strong negative correlation. A coefficient close to 0 indicates a lack of correlation.

Conclusions

We have identified a large number of trends during this analysis, here is a summary of the key elements of this study:

• 2018 was the year of acquisition of the assets, 2019 is the year of their use, with + 78% weekly active addresses and -35% of weekly USD traded
• MyCryptoHeroes remains the most played blockchain game on the Ethereum Blockchain
• CryptoKitties loses speed on all indicators even if it remains a key player after already 2 years of existence
• 0xUniverse is clearly positioned as one of the 3 flagship projects of 2019 with MyCryptoHeroes and CryptoKitties, but with statistics steadily increasing throughout the period