Gaming crypto token AXS has increased by almost 40 per cent to a four-month high of $13.94 on Monday, according to CoinDesk, a news site specialising in digital currencies .
Also, according to Coinalyze, a crypto futures market data provider, AXS’s dollar value locked in open contracts in perpetual futures rose by 156 per cent to $104 million on Monday.
AXS or Axie Infinity Shards is the governance token of Axie Infinity, a blockchain-based trading and combat game, where players can acquire, breed, grow, battle, and trade non-fungible token (NFT)-based creatures called “Axies”.
Earlier, Token Unlocks, a token analytics site, said that 4.8 million AXS tokens, or 1.8 per cent of its 270 million total supply, would be available for trade on Monday, making it the most bullish market move compared to other cryptocurrencies in recent times, baffling many users.
Crypto “unlocks” create liquidity, allowing investors to book profits. As part of the process, the tokens are locked to stop major holders from selling their coins all at once, which triggers price drops. These “big bag” holders are typically early investors or even project team members.
Most Retail Investors Unfazed By Market Decline
A study conducted by the trading platform eToro found that 69 per cent of retail investors were either happy or had mixed sentiments about last year’s protracted market decline. About 31 per cent of the respondents also said they were hesitant to invest in cryptos after the crash.
Commenting on the renewed interest among ordinary crypto investors, Ben Laidler, the global market strategist at eToro, said: “The fact that two-thirds of retail investors feel indifferent, or even more positive, after the worst year for markets in a generation might seem odd. But most of this cohort thinks in years and decades. For those with longer time horizons, 2022 has offered a chance to buy companies at lower valuations, improving the outlook for long-term returns.”
Microsoft Closes Its Social VR Platform
Microsoft plans to shut down its Altspace VR, a social virtual reality (VR) platform, on March 10, 2023. After announcing 10,000 job cutbacks worldwide as part of its re-organisation process, the Silicon Valley titan disclosed the news in a blog post.
“As we look to the future, we see the opportunity for VR expanding beyond consumer into business and now have an even greater goal: a more open, accessible, and secure version of immersive experiences in the metaverse,” reads the blog post. “With Mesh, we aspire to build a platform that offers the widest opportunity to all involved, including creators, partners and customers.”
One of the first social networking applications for virtual reality was Altspace VR, which lets users join 3D chat rooms to play games, view films, and go to events on headset and web platforms. Microsoft purchased the business in 2017 as part of its ambitions to create its own mixed-reality ecosystem, just as it was about to fold owing to financial issues. Following the closure of Altspace VR, Microsoft has announced that users can now download their data and content from the VR platform.
