MATIC set to be bullish after Starbucks Odyssey Beta launches on Polygon

  • Starbucks Odyssey Beta launches on Polygon.

  • MATIC is up by 4% today and could rally higher soon.

  • The broader crypto market could end the week in a positive tone after underperforming for most of the week. 

Starbucks Odyssey Beta launches on Polygon

The Polygon team announced a few hours ago that Starbucks Odyssey Beta is now live on its network. Polygon explained that the Starbucks Odyssey is an extension of the Starbucks Rewards loyalty program that unlocks access to exciting new benefits and experiences for members. 

This latest cryptocurrency news has seen MATIC performing well over the past few hours. MATIC, the native token of the Polygon ecosystem, is up by more than 4% in the last 24 hours as the broader market recovers.

At press time, the price of Polygon stands at $0.9259, up by more than 4% today. The total cryptocurrency market cap stands above $855 billion, up by nearly 2% in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin, the world’s leading cryptocurrency by market cap, is up by more than 2% in the last 24 hours and is now trading above $17k for the first time this week.

Key levels to watch

The MATIC/USD 4-hour chart has turned bullish as MATIC has been performing well over the past 24 hours. The technical indicators show that MATIC is coming out of its recent bearish run and could surge higher soon.

The MACD line has crossed into the positive zone, indicating that the bears are currently not in control of the MATIC market. The 14-day RSI of 54 shows that MATIC could be heading to the overbought region if the bullish trend continues.

With the bulls now in charge, MATIC could surge past the $0.9577 resistance level before the end of the day. With the Starbucks news, MATIC could have an extra incentive to move towards the $1 psychological level for the first time this month.

Where to buy Polygon now

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

Buy MATIC with eToro today

OKX

OKX is a top cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 140 cryptocurrencies to invest in. OKX takes customer security very seriously, they store almost all of their clients‘ funds in cold storage, and the exchange is yet to be hacked. On top of this, the exchange offers very low fees and customers can even use their crypto as collateral for loans on the platform.

Buy MATIC with OKX today

The post MATIC set to be bullish after Starbucks Odyssey Beta launches on Polygon appeared first on CoinJournal.

7 of the Best Play-to-Earn Crypto Games to Invest in for 2023

In a recent report, DappRadar stated that $1.3 billion was raised by play-to-earn and metaverse games in Q3 2022 alone. This comes with almost a million daily active wallets interacting with these games. These figures show that, even since its beginning, play-to-earn gaming has been offering excellent investment opportunities that can’t be missed.

If you’re wondering where to start with play-to-earn investing, we’ve got you covered. In this article, we’re going to break down seven of the best play-to-earn crypto games to invest in to get in early on the gaming revolution. Let’s explore.

1. Metacade (MCADE) – Your Best Play-to-Earn Investment

Metacade is a community hub built for the future of play-to-earn (P2E) gaming. It’s not a game itself, but Web3’s ultimate destination for finding the latest play-to-earn titles, connecting with like-minded gamers, and learning the best ways to maximise your play-to-earn income. 

Metacade’s core philosophy is to help players make the most out of P2E gaming. That’s why you’ll find reviews, game leaderboards, and alpha from industry experts that help anyone, no matter their gaming background, find their feet in this incredibly exciting industry. But perhaps most importantly, Metacade wants to help players have a direct say in the games they play.

To encourage experienced play-to-earn gamers to share their knowledge with new players, Metacade is rewarding those that post reviews, alpha, and other content with the native MCADE token for their contributions. But even if you’re a noob in the play-to-earn space, you can still earn just by sharing your thoughts on a new game you’ve been playing. 

Metacade offers multiple ways to boost your play-to-earn income, not just through sharing content and learning best practices. On the platform, you’ll find prize draws and tournaments for you to pit your skills against other Metacade players for a chance to win a big prize. If you can’t wait to start playing the latest play-to-earn titles, then you can also earn MCADE tokens for testing out new games for Metacade’s developer community. 

In 2024, you’ll even be able to find long-term work in the gaming industry with Metacade’s job board. Here, you’ll discover part-time tester roles, internships, and salaried positions with the game studios at the forefront of play-to-earn gaming. 

Once Metacade becomes a thriving community responsible for some of the best play-to-earn games on the market, the core team will step back and allow the community to take the reins by forming a decentralised autonomous community (DAO). From here, each key decision, like new features, partnerships, and leadership positions, will be voted on by MCADE holders, turning Metacade into the world’s first community-owned virtual arcade in the process. 

With its ideas around being the number one destination for everything play-to-earn gaming, community ownership, and crowdsourced game development, Metacade is poised to dominate the play-to-earn space. This leads us to crown MCADE as the number one best play-to-earn crypto to buy if you’re looking to get in early on the gaming revolution.

>>> You can participate in the Metacade pre-sale here <<<

2. Axie Infinity (AXS & SLP) – Team Battle Style Game

Axie Infinity is one of the most well-recognised play-to-earn games on the market today. Axie Infinity is a Pokémon-esque game built on the Ethereum blockchain. Players build up a team of three Axies that are used in battle against other players for the chance to win Smooth Love Potion (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) tokens, which can be sold for fiat. You can also earn by completing quests, defeating AI enemies in Adventure mode, and farming key resources.

Axies are stored on the blockchain as NFTs and can be bought and sold on the Axie Infinity Marketplace. Today, you’ll find Axies ranging from a couple of dollars for the most basic to hundreds of thousands for the rarest. Players can take advantage of the unique characteristics of their Axies to breed new Axies with rare features, enabling them to be sold for a profit.

Since a surge in popularity in 2021, Axie Infinity has remained one of the most popular play-to-earn games, still attracting hundreds of thousands of monthly players that transact millions of dollars every day. The game’s governance token and primary investment vehicle, AXS, is our second choice for the best play-to-earn cryptos to invest in.

3. The Sandbox (SAND)

The Sandbox is a 3D virtual world that allows players to build whatever their heart desires, like a literal sandbox. The Sandbox is split up into thousands of plots of digital land, represented by the LAND NFT. Users buy LAND and other in-game assets on The Sandbox’s Marketplace using the SAND token. This LAND is then used to build monetisable games, experiences, and social hubs for the rest of The Sandbox community to interact with.

If users want to create their own unique objects, they can use VoxEdit, a tool for designing art, cars, wearables, characters, monsters, and more. The items generated can be sold on the marketplace for a profit or used in the Game Maker, The Sandbox’s plug-and-play solution to game design. 

There are already dozens of immersive experiences to be found in The Sandbox, like Hell’s Gate, vEmpire, and Xalya Sanctuary, all built using VoxEdit and the Game Maker. For this reason, SAND is our third option for the best play-to-earn cryptos to invest in.

4. Splinterlands (SPS & DEC) – Card-based Battles and Deckbuilding

Splinterlands is a trading card game that can be thought of as the blockchain version of Magic: The Gathering. Each card is owned as an NFT and is used as part of a larger deck in head-to-head duels against other players. If you win enough games, you can climb to the top of your rank’s leaderboard to win packs of cards, which can be upgraded, sold, and even rented to other players. 

You can also earn Dark Energy Crystals (DEC), the game’s native currency, by completing quests and winning tournaments to spend on new cards. Some of these cards fetch thousands of dollars for the rarest and most powerful. Splinterlands also uses the Splintershards (SPS) token, which is a governance token that players use to vote on upcoming changes to the game. 

With over 300k active players in the past week alone (DappRadar), Splinterlands is one of the best play-to-earn games, and its SPS token is our fourth choice for the best play-to-earn cryptos to invest in. 

5. Alien Worlds (TLM) – Exploring the reaches of space

Alien Worlds is a blockchain-based game set in space. The primary objective of the game is to mine Trillium (TLM) while completing quests, battling other players, and developing your in-game land. This land is found on the game’s seven planets and can be mined for your own gain or rented out for others to mine. Each planet has its own DAO, and stakers of the TLM token can vote in weekly elections, treasury distribution, and other decisions that affect the planet’s future. 

When mining, there’s also a chance to win one of the game’s NFTs, like a tool, weapon, or minion, that can be used to get ahead in-game or sold on the marketplace. Players can also earn these NFTs by staking their TLM for a set period. The longer the lock-up, the rarer the NFT reward. 

Alien Worlds is the most popular play-to-earn game on the market, attracting about 650k active players in the past month, according to DappRadar. As the game continues to dominate, we’ll likely see TLM substantially rise in price. That prompts us to put it at number five as one of the best play-to-earn cryptos to invest in.

6. CryptoBlades (SKILL) – Raiding and Ranking

CryptoBlades is a play-to-earn game that merges traditional RPG gameplay with a crypto element. The game is set in a mystical land, and the aim is to battle other players, win SKILL tokens, and upgrade your weapons to climb the ranks. Each character has a set of attributes, like stamina and power, that give them a better chance of winning duels, but you can also purchase or forge new weapon NFTs to give yourself a fighting chance. 

Like many other RPG games, you can also team up with other players and go on raids. Raids are missions to take down one of the game’s bosses, and the higher your collective rank, the harder it will be to win. However, this also means your chances of earning some serious loot increase. Quests can also be completed to boost your rank, increasing your SKILL rewards from playing.

CryptoBlades is one of the leading play-to-earn RPG games and SKILL is our sixth choice for the best play-to-earn cryptos to invest in.

7. Gods Unchained (GODS) – Card Battles with NFTs

Gods Unchained is another turn-based play-to-earn trading card game. Each card is stored as an NFT on the Ethereum blockchain, meaning that it can be bought and sold on the game’s marketplace using the GODS token. Cards have a wide range of different attributes, giving them more rarity and enabling them to be sold for thousands of dollars at a time. 

New players are given 140 cards to start with, and through winning battles and climbing the leaderboards, can build a powerful deck to take on higher-ranked players. They can also win Flux, an in-game currency that is non-tradeable, unlike GODS. Flux is used to forge new cards and improve existing ones, which can be used to advance your deck or sold for a sweet profit. 

Like Splinterlands, Gods Unchained has gained a loyal fan base through its improvement in the trading card game genre. With digital ownership being brought into the mix, Gods Unchained has seen rapid success as one of the premier games in this genre. Therefore, GODS is our seventh choice as the best play-to-earn crypto to invest in. 

The Best Overall Play-to-Earn Crypto Project: Metacade (MCADE)

There are many excellent games on this list that are likely to do very well over the years. Games like Axie Infinity and The Sandbox have already proven that they can attract sizeable crowds with their innovative game mechanics, while titles like Splinterlands and Gods Unchained are demonstrating that improving an old format with new technology can yield incredible results. 

There’s also the risk that some of the games might fall out of favour for a wide variety of reasons. That’s why there’s no other place to put Metacade but in pole position. Metacade only relies on play-to-earn gaming growing as a whole to see success, not any one game’s performance. As old titles fade away and new titles join this rapidly-growing industry, Metacade will be there at the centre of it all. 

When you consider that, according to Crypto.com, play-to-earn gaming is expected to grow at 10x the rate of traditional gaming by 2025, Metacade is in a perfect position to deliver massive gains over the next few years as its popularity soars. And there is no better time to buy than right now. 

With the Metacade presale still in phase 1, you can pick up 125 MCADE tokens for just $1. Compare that to phase 8, where you’ll get just 50 MCADE tokens for $1. If you want to more than double your long-term returns on Metacade, then consider whether you should become one of the earliest investors in this fantastic project. It could just be one of the best play-to-earn cryptos you ever invest in.

You can participate in the Metacade pre-sale here.

The post 7 of the Best Play-to-Earn Crypto Games to Invest in for 2023 appeared first on CoinJournal.

How bullish is Aave after recovering from the $50 bottom?

  • AAVE has been recovering from the $50 bottom

  • The cryptocurrency has suffered from limited DeFi activity

  • AAVE needs to overcome resistance at $71 and the descending trading channel

Aave price (AAVE/USD) touched a low of $50 on November 22. The level is a crucial support that AAVE traded at in June. Afterwards, AAVE embarked on strong bullish momentum, hitting $115 in August. If history repeats itself, AAVE buyers could look at another bullish rally that could last for a while. However, it is not that straightforward.

Since August, AAVE has been bearish. The cryptocurrency has been making lower lows and lower highs. Although the cryptocurrency recovered strongly in October, the FTX crash inspired a sharp drop to the $50 bottom. However, with AAVE trading at $62 as of press time, it gives hope that AAVE could continue to surge. 

The Achilles’ heel of Aave has been a decline in DeFi activity. Aave is a leading decentralised lending ecosystem. It allows users to borrow and lend crypto assets for a reward. However, activity has been falling, with the total value locked at $3.76 billion as of press time. The TVL is a drop from $5.4 billion a month earlier. It also compares sharply to a TVL of $18.94 billion in October 2021. Consequently, a sustained recovery of AAVE could be tied to the uptick in DeFi activity and cryptocurrencies.

AAVE trades on a descending channel amid recent price recoveries

AAVE/USD Chart by TradingView

A technical outlook shows AAVE losing bullish power near the $71 resistance. This is the immediate resistance that AAVE needs to overcome to consider a further upside.

But besides the resistance, AAVE trades in a descending channel. Investors could shift attention to whether the cryptocurrency will break above the upper limit of the descending channel.

Will AAVE go higher?

AAVE is not yet bullish despite the recent recoveries. Nonetheless, a recovery above $50 should reignite hopes for buying AAVE. To consider a bullish bias, a recovery above the $71 resistance and the descending channel is needed.

Where to buy AAVE 

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

Buy AAVE with eToro today

OKX

OKX is a top cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 140 cryptocurrencies to invest in. OKX takes customer security very seriously, they store almost all of their clients‘ funds in cold storage, and the exchange is yet to be hacked. On top of this, the exchange offers very low fees and customers can even use their crypto as collateral for loans on the platform.

Buy AAVE with OKX today

The post How bullish is Aave after recovering from the $50 bottom? appeared first on CoinJournal.

Litecoin price comeback stalls as hashrate nosedives

Litecoin price recovery stalled this week after defying gravity amid the ongoing crypto sell-off. LTC retreated to a low of $75.60, which was a few points below this month’s high of $84.47. It remains about 60% from the lowest level in November.

LTC hashrate slumps 

Litecoin has been in a strong bullish trend in the past few months as demand for the coin remained at an elevated level. Its rally was surprising because of the performance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other large-cap cryptocurrencies. For example, BTC has remained slightly above the year-to-date low of $15,400.

Litecoin’s rally coincided with the strong performance of its hashrate. In November, the hashrate rose to an all-time high of 633 TH/s, which was higher than this year’s low of 328 TH/s. 

Hashrate is an important data in proof-of-work cryptocurrencies because it helps to measure the health of the network. It is used to determine the number of guesses that are made in the network per second. 

This week, however, Litecoin price has dropped amid rising concerns about the crypto and stock market. The decline is notable since it happened because of the dropping hashrate. According to Coin Wars, the hashrate has dropped to 537, the lowest level since November 21.

Why LTC is dropping

There are other reasons why LTC has dropped. First, it has declined because of profit-taking in the coin since it rose by over 65% from its lowest point in November. This is a common situation across the broader market.

Second, it slumped because of macro levels. On Friday, data by the US showed that the American economy added over 282k jobs in November. In the same period, the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%.

And on Monday, data showed that the American services sector remained in an expansion level. Therefore, investors believe that the Federal Reserve will likely continue hiking interest rates in the coming months.

Third, it seems like most crypto investors have reached panic levels, pushing them to sell their coins. The evidence is that the number of Bitcoins in exchanges has dropped sharply in the past few weeks. 

While some of these coins have moved to external wallets, data suggests that the number of coins in self-storage has not grown by much. This suggests that investors are still fearful about the crypto market. Indeed, the crypto fear and greed index has slumped to the fear level of 23.

How to buy Litecoin

eToro

eToro is a global social investment brokerage company which offers over 75 cryptocurrencies to invest in. It offers crypto trading commission-free and users on the platform have the option to manually invest or socially invest. eToro even has a unique CopyTrader system which allows users to automatically copy the trades of popular investors.

Buy LTC with eToro today

OKX

OKX is a top cryptocurrency exchange which offers over 140 cryptocurrencies to invest in. OKX takes customer security very seriously, they store almost all of their clients‘ funds in cold storage, and the exchange is yet to be hacked. On top of this, the exchange offers very low fees and customers can even use their crypto as collateral for loans on the platform.

Buy LTC with OKX today

The post Litecoin price comeback stalls as hashrate nosedives appeared first on CoinJournal.

LUNC price forms a bullish pattern as USTC pumps

  • Terra Luna Classic price crawled back on Thursday.

  • The number of LUNC holders has been stable.

  • USTC price soared by over 20%.

Terra Luna Classic price crawled back on Thursday as investors reacted to the strong comeback of USTC. It rose to a high of $0.00017, which was slightly above this week’s low of $0.00016. LUNC’s price is about 71% below the highest level this year.

USTC price rebounds

Terra Luna Classic is a community-operated cryptocurrency that is the remnant of Terra’s collapse. It differs from Terra Luna, which was unveiled by Do Kwon as part of Terra 2.0. 

LUNC has been in the spotlight in the past few months as the number of holders has remained steady. Data shows that despite the bad reputation, the number of LUNC holders is at an all-time high. According to LUNC Burner, there are now 12,090 unique addresses in LUNC. This is significantly higher than last month’s low of 11,590.

These buyers are likely attracted to the token for its speculation purposes. These holders believe that the token will stage a major comeback if the broad cryptocurrency market rebounds. There are now over 880 billion bonded tokens, 

Meanwhile, the number of Terra Luna Classic that is being burned is rising. More than 34.2 billion LUNC tokens has been burned since May. As a result, the total supply has been reduced to 6.8 trillion tokens.

Terra Luna Classic price is crawling back as Terra Classic USD stablecoin is rebounding. According to Binance, USTC price has soared by more than 20% in the past 24 hours. It rose to a high of $0.024, which was the highest level since November 11.

USTC is a former stablecoin that was the nerve center of Terra’s ecosystem. Its de-pegging led to the collapse of Terra and its ecosystem, as we wrote here. At the time, USTC holders in DeFi protocols like Anchor Protocol saw their investments evaporate.

LUNC price prediction

LUNC chart by TradingView

The daily chart shows that Terra Luna Classic price has been in a steep sell-off in the past few months. Along the way, the coin has formed a falling wedge pattern that is shown in orange. In price action analysis, this pattern is usually a bullish sign, 

LUNC has moved below the 25-day and 50-day moving averages while the Average True Range (ATR) has dropped, which is a sign of low volatility. Therefore, Terra Luna Classic price will likely have a bullish comeback in December as speculation increases.

How to buy Luna Classic

As LUNC is such a new asset, it’s yet to be listed on major exchanges. You can still purchase LUNC using a DEX (decentralised exchange) though, which just means there are a few extra steps. To buy LUNC right now, follow these steps:

1. Buy ETH on a regulated exchange or broker, like eToro ›

We suggest eToro because it’s one of the world’s leading multi-asset trading platforms, an exchange and wallet all-in-one with some of the lowest fees in the industry. It’s also beginner-friendly, and has more payment methods available to users than any other available service.

2. Send your ETH to a compatible wallet like Trust Wallet or MetaMask

You’ll need to create your wallet, grab your address, and send your coins there.

3. Connect your wallet to the 1Inch DEX

Head to 1Inch, and ‚connect‘ your wallet to it.

4. You can now swap your ETH for LUNC

Now that you’re connected, you’ll be able to swap for 100s of coins including LUNC.

The post LUNC price forms a bullish pattern as USTC pumps appeared first on CoinJournal.