Table of Contents

    In this report, we present the 2023 Q1 journey of WAX Blockchain, utilizing a comprehensive approach that combines on-chain and off-chain data analysis from both social and technical perspectives.

    Key Takeaways

    1. In Q1, the WAX chain was dominated by Funko, highlighting the importance of major IP licensing for blockchains and showing that licensed collections backed by Web2 have not been significantly affected by the downturn in the NFT market.

    1. WAX Cloud Wallet has been updated with significant upgrades, including a streamlined onboarding process, improved dashboard, better token management, and a more intuitive user interface.

    1. WAXP Token metrics, which were in a downtrend throughout 2022, started to rise.

    1. Emerging news and projects on WAX Blockchain include Pepper Stake Beta, R-Planet Alpha, Lost Kingdom of T’Sara Ticket Redemption, Apex Kings, Trillium Battlegrounds Event, several updates on NeftyBlocks, and the introduction of TRUST.

    1. AtomicHub’s daily NFT trade volume has declined significantly, now 99.5% below its all-time high.

    1. The WAX Hub is an inclusive program that unites WAX supporters in their efforts to contribute to the growth and development of the WAX NFT ecosystem.

    1. NeftyBlocks has implemented Blend Limits in order to ensure a fair distribution of NFTs.

    Q1 Stats

    Number of Accounts and Minted NFTs on WAX Blockchain in Q1 2023

    In Q1 of 2023, a total of 978,476 new accounts were opened on the WAX Blockchain, representing a 7.31 percent increase in the total number of accounts. We observe that the number of accounts in the WAX blockchain is increasing rapidly, although there is a payment obligation feature for account opening, which was previously introduced to block bots. 28,858,635 new NFTs were minted during Q1, and the total number of NFTs minted on the WAX blockchain increased by 8.70 percent. These metrics are due to the game-oriented nature of the WAX blockchain, proving that the WAX blockchain can still handle a lot of transactions.

    Central Exchange Trading Metrics of WAXP Token Q1 2022-Q1 2023

    The average daily volume and total volume of the WAXP token were on a downtrend throughout 2022 after the bear market started. As we can see in the 2023 Q1 data, we can say that this downtrend has shifted upwards, and the trading volume of WAXP token on centralized exchanges has increased compared to the previous quarter. However, WAXP token trading volumes in Q1 2023 are still below half of the volume achieved in Q1 2022. This shows us that the bear market may still not be over and we should look at other indicators. Volumes in the next quarter will show whether the downward trend is a breakout or a short-term correction.

    Lowest and highest price data were in a downtrend throughout 2022, it is not possible to say that there is a sharp return here, as in the volume data, but we can clearly say that a consolidation process has begun. The next quarter’s highest and lowest price data will play a critical role in determining whether the sideways move is the bottom price. $0.04 is the lowest price for WAXP in the past year it was 13x smaller than the highest price of last year.

    The average market cap of WAXP Token is one of the most critical metrics we have to consider because we can say that it is among the fundamental data that most people in the ecosystem initially look at when analyzing their investments. WAXP average market cap value, which has decreased by a total of 77 percent over the past four quarters, has increased slightly in this quarter. WAXP token, which increased by 8.7 percent compared to the previous quarter, has started attracting users’ and investors’ attention again.

    Collections and Wallets on WAX Blockchain in Q1 2023

    In Q1, it is evident that the WAX chain was dominated by Funko, demonstrating that licensed collections backed by Web2 have not been significantly affected by the downturn in the NFT market. This highlights the critical role that major IP licensing plays for blockchains. However, we have also observed a sharp decline in native Web3 projects or the absence of a star project that could surpass these licensed projects.

    Whale accounts are integral to many investors’ strategies in the blockchain ecosystem. In Q1, the table above highlights key whale accounts worth monitoring. Notably, the top buyer, “banxawallet1,” is associated with Banxa, enabling seamless NFT purchases through its innovative NFT Checkout, which offers a wide range of payment options, including local methods, Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, and Google Wallet.

    We share the top 10 volume Gaming DApps every week. In this chart, we have ranked the projects based on the number of times they have appeared in the weekly top 10 list. We believe that this metric is crucial for showcasing the sustainable trading volumes of these projects.

    Key Points:

    1. Dungeon Master appeared in the top 3 for all 13 weeks, followed by Alien Worlds (10 times), Farming Tales (7 times), and Taco (4 times).
    2. Taco consistently appeared in the top 5 throughout the 13 weeks.
    3. Colonize Mars made a strong comeback in week 13, climbing back into the top 5.
    4. Novopangea made its first appearance on the list about six weeks ago after the latest news and has consistently remained in the top 10 ever since.
    5. Mining Architect has been absent from the list for the past six weeks.

    #CreatorsFirst Initiative: $10,000 NFT Purchase Spree

    WAX Blockchain announces the #CreatorsFirst initiative, aiming to support creators by purchasing up to $10,000 worth of NFTs from secondary marketplaces. The community can nominate their favorite NFT projects, with factors such as quality, creativity, utility, and innovation taken into consideration. The deadline for nominations is March 21st, and the winning collection will be purchased using the official wallet hzeau.wam, showcasing the project’s work and supporting the creators within the WAX Blockchain ecosystem.

    WAX Cloud Wallet updated with Enhanced User Experience

    WAX Cloud Wallet announces significant upgrades, including a streamlined onboarding process, improved dashboard, better token management, and a more intuitive user interface. The updated wallet also introduces the NFT Token Bridge, providing access to liquidity on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain, with plans to add more EVM chains in the future.

    Rakeden was elected as the new IG for the WAX

    WAX blockchain has a watchdog agency called the Office of Inspector General (OIG), which evaluates WAX Guilds on a monthly basis and publishes a rating report to help WAX token holders make informed voting decisions to determine the top 21 ranked Guilds as active block producers. 

    In short, we can think of it as a DAO system that monitors the contribution of block producers to the network and pushes them one step further.

    The current season’s candidates were Nick Kusters (NICKKUSTERS1), Anders Eskildsen (DANISHCRYPTO), Keir Kleinknecht (ONFQU.WAM), Jannis Migdalas (RAKEDEN.OIG), Mike DiFranco (MIKEDCRYPTO5).

    Future reading about OIG: https://waxoig.medium.com/an-introduction-to-the-wax-oig-aab5fd69c294

    NASCAR Partners with WAX for Exclusive NFT Collectibles

    NASCAR celebrates its 75th Anniversary Season by partnering with WAX Blockchain to create limited-edition NFT drops for fans attending select races. These unique digital collectibles will capture the excitement of prestigious races, including the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum, DAYTONA 500, NASCAR Cup Series Chicago Street Course race, and NASCAR Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway. This partnership combines the thrilling world of NASCAR with the innovative NFT space, offering fans a unique, verifiable way to own a piece of the action and enhancing their overall experience.

    Antilope update 

    The WAX blockchain completed the upgrade to Antilope 3.1 on March 27, representing a major milestone for the development and cross-chain interaction of the WAX blockchain. 

    Antelope is an open framework for building fast, secure, and user-friendly Web3 products. With this framework, WAX, EOS, TELOS, and UX are able to interact in a much more meaningful way allowing an easier onboarding of Web3 developers and game studios.

    A Funko-Centric Market Takes Over WAX Blockchain

    Funko has become the new king at WAX, with its collections offering seamless experiences for users since its arrival in 2021. The impact of Funko on the WAX blockchain cannot be ignored, with Nicktoons, House of the Dragon, Dungeons and Dragons, Kroft, and DC Teen Titans Go occupying the top five spots for sales volume during this quarter, accounting for over $5 million dollars. 

    While a market dominated by a single product, such as Funko collections, has its advantages, it also presents certain risks and potential downsides. On the one hand, a strong market for Funko collections could attract new users and increase transaction volume on the WAX blockchain, which is positive for the overall health of the platform. Moreover, if Funko collections are well-managed and maintained, they could offer a stable source of revenue for collectors and investors.

    However, a market that is heavily dominated by a single product could also have potential downsides. A lack of diversity in the market could lead to stagnation and reduced innovation as developers and investors focus solely on the dominant product, ignoring other opportunities.

    Regardless, it is apparent that Funko is here to stay, and we hope to see innovative ideas from them that will benefit both Funko collectors and WAX users.

    AtomicHub NFT Volume Reaches ATL Since 2021

    Atomichub NFT Trading Volume
    Atomichub NFT Trading Volume Source: Atomichub

    AtomicHub’s daily NFT trade volume has declined to below $40,000 during the month of March, returning to levels last seen in early 2021. At its ATH, AtomicHub reached a daily volume of $10 million; however, it is now 99.5% below its all-time high, indicating a significant decrease in trading activity.

    WAX Initiated WAX Ambassador Hub

    The WAX Hub is an inclusive program that unites WAX supporters in their efforts to contribute to the growth and development of the WAX NFT ecosystem. Open to enthusiasts, leaders, influencers, and experts alike, members can engage in various activities such as community management, content creation, social media, events, and tech support. By joining the WAX Hub, participants gain access to exclusive rewards. The more you contribute to the WAX Hub community, the more you stand to earn in terms of exclusive rewards, opportunities, and valuable experiences.

    Emerging DApp Trends and Projects on WAX Blockchain: Q1 2023

    Pepper Stake Beta has been launched

    Pepper Stake, a new service developed by WECAN, enables the effortless creation of staking utilities within the WAX ecosystem, providing benefits to project owners and users alike. Built entirely on the WAX blockchain, it allows project owners to raise awareness by adding tokens or NFTs to staking pools or using project tokens as rewards. Users can profit from staking unused NFTs and earning rewards. The fully decentralized staking system supports the AtomicAssets standard for NFTs and requires staking and reward tokens to be issued on the WAX blockchain. The Ukraine-based game dev team WECAN, also a WAX Block Producer, aims to enhance gaming experiences and empower players through blockchain technology.

    Website: https://pepperstake.online/

    R-Planet Alpha has been released

    R-Planet, a real-time military strategy game developed by WECAN, launched its public Open Alpha on January 27, offering players the opportunity to build and develop military bases, create armies, and compete for prizes. The game features three factions, alliances, and a variety of NFTs to enhance gameplay. With new features such as daily limits on robot NFT unpacking, additional in-game assets, and expanded stats, the Open Alpha aims to provide a balanced and engaging experience for players in the R-Planet MMO.

    Lost Kingdom of T’Sara Ticket Redemption is opened

    The Aftermath Islands Metaverse, a virtual world powered by the WAX blockchain, co-founded by Dinko Dinkov and David Lucatch in 2021, offers a high-fidelity graphics environment for users to build, explore, and interact with others. The platform allows users to buy virtual land and digital items, as well as play games such as “Lost Kingdom of T’Sara” to earn resources and NFTs. 

    Website: https://aftermathislands.com/lost-kingdom-of-tsara/

    Apex Kings set to launch in Q2 2023 on WAX

    Apex Kings, an upcoming blockchain-based NFT collecting and car racing game set to launch in Q2 2023, promises to revolutionize the gaming experience by incorporating AI drivers with distinct personalities that dynamically react to race situations.

    Website: https://www.apexkings.io/

    FGL and Alien Worlds Unite for Trillium Battlegrounds Event

    In partnership with the Magor Land Council, FGL presented the Trillium Battlegrounds event from January 30th to February 13th, 2023. Players engaged in battles, collected medals, and competed for exciting prizes in this collaborative effort with Alien Worlds.

    NeftyBlocks Introduces Blend Limits for Fair NFT Distribution

    A new feature called Blend Limits has been introduced to the NFT blending tools, allowing creators to control the number of blends per wallet and ensuring fair distribution among collectors. With the addition of blend cooldown periods, creators can set a waiting time before users can blend again, making the NFT collections more appealing and accessible to all supporters and collectors.

    NeftyBlocks continue to reward its users with 10,000 $NEFTY tokens daily for trading on its NFT Market. $NEFTY has a large liquidity pool that supports the token and provides certain features and privileges on NeftyBlocks NFT Market. Users can earn more $NEFTY by providing liquidity and staking the token to collect a share of WAX secondary market fees. NeftyBlocks invites users to list their NFTs and start trading to earn $NEFTY tokens and become part of their community.

    NFTHive Development Update: New Features and Enhancements

    The WAX Hive Guild development update highlights several advancements and features that have been added or improved in the NFTHive platform:

    1. PFP Creator and Drops: The new PFP creator enables collection owners to add attributes and image layers for randomized on-chain traits during minting.
    2. NFTHive Blends: This new blending feature allows collections to create blends with multiple ingredients and outcomes, giving creators more control over ingredient actions.
    3. NFTHive Packs with multiple collections: The pack contract now supports multiple collections, allowing the unpacking NFTs from different collections in a single pack.
    4. Trait Analytics and Rankings: Trait analytics and rarity rankings are now available for several collections, providing insights into NFT traits.
    5. New Notification System: NFTHive’s notification system has been synchronized with the Telegram bot, streamlining user notifications.
    6. Decentralized Verification Tool: This tool aggregates verification statuses from different markets and incorporates user voting to create a community score, which can be integrated into any website.
    7. Twitch NFT Rewards: A new tool links Twitch game rewards with user wallets on WAX, allowing NFTs to be dropped as rewards for watching game content on Twitch.

    TRUST Introduced: AI-Powered Wallet Scoring for Enhanced Security

    Chain Champs introduced TRUST, an AI-driven service that scored wallets based on transaction history to identify and combat fraud, scams, and malicious activities on the WAX blockchain. Utilizing advanced AI and Machine Learning technology, TRUST analyzed over 20 million transactions daily, detecting patterns of fraudulent behavior. This powerful tool was integrated into WAX Cloud Wallets and made available via a specialized smart contract, enabling dApps to access trust scores and improve security within their platforms.

    Additional DApp Highlights in Q1 on WAX Blockchain:

    January:

    1. WAX started 2023 with the BlastOff Puzzle Series. In these events, NFT airdrops were made to the community members who solved certain puzzles. It was also an indication that this year would go more community-oriented.
    2. Season 2 of the skill-based dungeon card game TacoAcryptia started on Jan 17th.
    3. The DYGYCON event series, a metaverse conference held on the Inverse platform, came to a close last November. Following the conclusion of DYGYCON, Sarah, one of the main organizers of the event, launched NFTopia on the same platform. The inaugural NFTopia event took place in January with participation from WAX and many WAX-based brands. NFTopia is focused on the metaverse and brings together creators, collectors, and enthusiasts of non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
    4. The updated WAX Community page was launched.
    5. Neftyblocks opened up all their premium tools for every NFT creator on WAX, enabling users to create packs, blends, drop whitelists, and more by simply connecting their wallets.
    6. WAX NFTs are now fully integrated into Twitch Drops. Twitch Drops, powered by NFTHive, enable viewers to earn in-game rewards while watching live streams on Twitch.tv, allowing game creators to distribute NFTs to their audience.
    7. Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures X Funko collection is launched.
    8. DC Teen Titans Go!™ x Funko Series 1 is launched.

    February:

    1. Atomichub Marketplace redesigned the market pages.
    2. Blockchain Brawlers recently hosted a two-week-long NFT burning event featuring various competitions and milestones for players to win $BRWL rewards.
    3. Nickelodeon Cartoons x Funko Series 2 Digital Pop!™ collection is launched.
    4. House of the Dragon x Funko Series 1 is launched.

    March:

    1. The first series of Ultraman vIRL NFTs dropped on WAX.
    2. Dungeons & Dragons x Funko Series 1 is launched.
    3. Hanna Barbera x Funko Series 2 is launched.
    4. Funko April Fool Series is launched.
    5. In a recent collaboration between Zombie Outbreak Survival (ZOS) and AlienWorlds, they dropped a limited-edition NFT pack called the Out of This World.
    6. NFT Hive introduced a crafting update that featured auto-filling, searching for missing ingredients across NFTHive, Neftyblocks, and Atomichub drops, and recipe support for rarity, type, and variant attributes.
    7. NeftyBlocks introduced a new blending feature, allowing creators to transfer NFT ingredients to a wallet instead of burning them, providing the freedom to blend NFTs without destroying them in the process.
    8. ForgeArena launched Version 1.4.9.3, featuring an extended Exodus map, Exodus Case integration, improved end-game drop odds, and SkunkyChunks Case integration.
    9. William Quigley, the co-founder of Tether and WAX Blockchain, appeared on CNBC Television to discuss the impact of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank closures on the crypto industry.

    WAX Labs: What is being built behind the scenes?

    WAX Labs is an initiative aimed at funding projects that contribute to the development of the infrastructure of the WAX blockchain. It enables marketplaces, guilds, and developers to play a significant role in advancing the core functions of the chain while receiving rewards for their contributions. 

    Through WAX Labs, individuals and organizations can support the growth and improvement of the WAX blockchain by proposing and executing new ideas that can enhance the overall user experience. By funding such projects, WAX Labs plays a crucial role in ensuring the long-term success and sustainability of the WAX blockchain.

    Completed Projects of Wax Labs

    Waxcharts

    A free-to-use website that displays informative and interactive Network Graphs that shed light on user-user interaction patterns for all collections.

    WAX Twitch drops

    The Stream WAX Games on Twitch and Reward Viewers with NFTs program is a reward system developed for WAX projects to incentivize viewers to watch streams of their games on Twitch. WAX projects can create rewards with “WAX Twitch Drops” and link them to specific NFTs. Viewers who link their WAX Wallet and Twitch account can start watching streams of WAX Games to receive rewards.

    Projects Currently Under Development at Wax Labs

    Voyager

    Voyager is an index on the WAX blockchain that translates complex on-chain data into simple dashboards for exploring top NFT projects, DeFi tokens, and protocols. With it users can learn more about the performance of projects, beware of wash trading activities and discover trends with more ease on the chain.

    C++ library for access to EOS blockchain networks

    Well-known game studio OnikamiGames, creators of the popular Siege of Mytra game, are currently developing a powerful, open-source C++ library that will enable seamless EOS blockchain integration in games and applications across multiple platforms, including desktop (Windows, Mac, Linux) and mobile (iOS, Android) operating systems. The library will support major C++ based engines such as Unreal Engine, Godot Engine, and Cocos2D-X, with sample projects and integration manuals provided.

    Summary

    The financial aspect of the market appears to be experiencing a turnaround from the bottom, and the number and quality of infrastructure projects developed on the WAX platform are increasing daily. However, user expectations from projects on WAX have grown, game-focused competitor chains announcing partnerships and projects similar to those that attracted significant attention in previous years are no longer generating the same level of interest. Consequently, we anticipate that high-quality projects capable of capturing user interest will take center stage in the upcoming bull run.