Crypto Asset Market in January: Aptos, Metaverse Token Rise | coindesk JAPAN | Coindesk Japan

After a slump in 2022, the cryptocurrency market rose in January, with the crypto that fell the most last year gaining the most among the 160 crypto assets in the CoinDesk Market Index (CMI), which shows overall market performance. bottom.

Layer 1 blockchain Aptos cryptocurrency Apts (APT) rose 387% in January, the highest among CMIs.

Game Tokens and Metaverse Tokens also rose. Gala Games’ gala (GALA) rose 233% and Decentraland (MANA) rose 149%.

“When markets turn bullish, it’s not uncommon for the hardest-hit crypto assets to rise the most. said Martin Leinweber.

Bitcoin (BTC) is also up about 40% and Ethereum (ETH) is up about 30%.

(CoinDesk Indices)

Aptos (APT)

Founded by former Meta Platforms employees and launched in October 2022, layer-1 blockchain Aptos got off to a shaky start amid widespread doubts about transaction speeds. Aptos fell to $3 on Dec. 29, a drop of more than 76% from $13 when it started, according to data from CoinDesk. Aptos’ investors also included FTX’s investment arm.

Reinweber said some traders had made big shorts on Aptos, citing the plunge in Aptos’ funding rate on Jan. 25. Extremely negative positioning led to a large amount of short-squeeze, which ultimately pushed the price up in January.

Coinglass data shows that since Jan. 8, $115 million of shorts have been liquidated, compared to about $70 million of long liquidations. This may underscore the concerns many traders have about Aptos.

“For crypto assets to have justifiable market value, they will need to grow their user base and liquidity significantly before unlocking begins,” Reinweber added.

metaverse token

The CoinDesk Culture & Entertainment Index is up 81%, with media, culture and entertainment related tokens outperforming other sectors. Notably, metaverse tokens Decentraland and The Sandbox (SAND) rose 152% and 91%, respectively. Play-to-earn (P2E) game Axie Infinity (AXS) is up 75%.

A report released by crypto data company Kaiko on January 31 shows that trading volume of Metaverse tokens on South Korea’s largest crypto exchange Upbit compared to Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange. He pointed out that the price is soaring.

“This trend shows that South Korea has a particular affinity for the Metaverse,” said the report, adding that from Jan. 22-23, the four Metaverse tokens had a daily trading volume of 600 million. It surpassed the dollar, nearly doubling Binance’s trading volume over the same period.

The cryptocurrency market, which was heavily correlated with the performance of the stock market a month ago, has significantly outperformed key metrics. In stock markets, the Nasdaq is up 9% and the S&P 500 is up 5%.

(CoinDesk)

Among other major crypto assets, Solana (SOL) surged 146%, rebounding from December’s all-time low of $8.19 to close to $24. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s positive tweet in late December in support of Solana fueled the rise.

｜Translation: coindesk JAPAN
｜Editing: Takayuki Masuda
| Image: CoinDesk Indices
｜Original: Crypto Market January Roundup: Aptos, Metaverse-Affiliated Tokens Lead Broad-Based Rally