The NFT Gaming Protocols To Watch Closely
These Are The Protocols That Are Currently Running The Show
Introduction
We’re back with more NFT gaming alpha. In the last Deep Dive, we taught you all how to hunt for the best NFT gaming projects. With the announcement of Steam banning blockchain games from their platform, I see this as an opportune moment to point out the other protocols that are holding down the fort for NFT gaming. If we cannot depend on the mainstream companies to show us any support, we must support ourselves. This is my attempt to give you all the breadcrumbs to march your way into the Promised Land with authority.
NFT gaming is currently killing it in every industry wide category. If you don’t believe me, you can see the data for yourself:
As you can see, gaming is absolutely curb stomping every other sector when it comes to transactions, users, and volume. So, we aren’t lying to you all when we say that gaming will be the catalyst of mainstream adoption. When it comes to listing out the top protocols, things can be a little tricky because there are both L1 and L2 protocols that are listed below. However, the L2 protocol that is listed below has done well enough to earn its spot on the list, even though it was built on top of an L1 that is also listed below. Plus, the data from Dapp Radar validates my claims:
According to the chart above, the top 5 protocols that have the most user activity are BSC, Polygon (MATIC), and Ethereum. Something that all of these protocols have in common is that games are also being built on top of them everyday. So, if gaming has been blowing everything else out of the water, and the top protocols in user activity also happen to support gaming development, is it safe to say that much of that success is related to gaming? No, I won’t go as far to say that it is. L1s and L2s won’t be the thing to power the NFT gaming narrative. However, I do think that the data makes for an interesting discussion. So without further ado, let’s get to it!
*I know the L1/L2 thing won’t matter to most of you, but I wanted to point that out for the Reply Guys out there that are going to be super technical and critique the article in a facetious manner. There’s always at least one.*
Polygon (MATIC)
Polygon is a Layer 2 solution that was built on Ethereum in response to the scalability issues that Ethereum currently faces. Polygon’s EVM compatibility and high throughput makes it an ideal platform for NFT game development.
If you’d like a more detailed explanation of the features, check the infographic below:
Polygon houses over 3,000 Dapps as well.
At its peak week this year, Polygon averaged 1.68M users.
Notable games that currently run on Polygon are:
Polygon currently ranks as the #21 coin by market cap ($10B).
Polygon is a solid Layer 2 protocol that’s primed for game development.
Binance Smart Chain
Binance Smart Chain is the blockchain that runs parallel to the Binance Chain. The Binance Smart Chain is a Proof Of Stake protocol that relies on a system of 21 validators to reach consensus.
The goal of the Binance Smart Chain is to achieve a high transaction capacity and give users the ability to create Dapps using smart contracts.
Binance Smart Chain reached a peak of 6.71M users during the 18th week of this year.
Binance has also announced a $1B accelerator fund to continue building out the BSC ecosystem.
The most popular games that exist on BSC are listed below:
These are only a small number of games that are on BSC. There are plenty of other existing games as well as new games being built everyday.
Ethereum
This is the blockchain that needs no introduction. Ethereum is the King Of The Smart Contracts and the #2 coin in crypto. Ethereum is basically the reason that every other Layer 1 or Layer 2 that utilizes smart contracts (pretty much all of them) exists. The only exception is Bitcoin.
Games on Ethereum have had some of the most successful launches in the space. One game that has been killing it this entire bull run is Axie Infinity.
Axie took the crypto world by storm when it started its run up back in June.
Aside from Axie Infinity, most of the L2s (Polygon included) that are delivering topnotch games to the industry are built on top of the Ethereum protocol.
The widely successful company (and one of Axie’s biggest investors), Animoca Brands, has released multiple games on Ethereum and Polygon.
Animoca currently holds a valuation of $2.9B
On Week 17 of this year, Ethereum reached a high of 1.52M users.
Some other highly anticipated games coming to Ethereum are:
And many many more...
Ethereum blockchain games are raising historic funding rounds.
Conclusion
Those are the NFT gaming protocols that are helping to usher this sector into the mainstream. It would be in your best interest to monitor the developments occurring with these platforms.
If you have no idea how to look for games, check out the article that was written on how to find the best NFT games.
It is to be noted that while these protocols are the top dogs of the industry, there are some real movers on the way that will probably eclipse these Top 5 in the gaming category. Some honorable mentions and platforms to be on the lookout for are:
This isn’t the last of the Top 5 NFT Gaming lists. I will continue to deliver these lists periodically. Lastly, if the traditional mainstream gaming companies won’t let NFT gaming in the door, we’ll just kick it in.
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