A new marketplace focused on gaming NFTs is on the way from the co-founder of Twitch, reflecting a boom in the space during what's been a blockbuster 2021 for cryptocurrencies and digital collectibles.
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Fractal will allow players to purchase and sell assets for games that run on the Solana blockchain, said Justin Kan, known for his work in launching Twitch, a livestreaming service focused on gaming, entertainment, sports, and music that reaches more than 30 million users a day.
"For players, this will mean they can truly own the value of their in-game work: items they own will be buyable, tradeable or sellable," Kan said in a Medium blog post introducing Fractal on Sunday. "For game companies, their in-game assets become persistent platforms on top of which other developers will be able to build experiences."
Kan, who is serving as part of Fractal's founding team, said Fractal will act as a primary market, with companies ushering in their new games to players, as well as a secondary market where users can buy and sell NFTs.
"We are starting with the Solana blockchain, as we see the low cost and high speed of transactions as appealing to game creators who want to have a high number of in-game assets," said Kan.
He said a launch line-up would arrive "soon" but didn't specify a date.
Tokens tied to blockchain-based games and metaverse platforms are among the best performing in 2021 in the cryptocurrency market which surpassed $3 trillion during the year. Prices, overall, have cooled from high levels, bringing the crypto market valuation to $2.1 trillion as of Monday.
The AXS token for play-to-earn game Axie Infinity has skyrocketed 17,440% to trade above $101 on Monday. Decentraland's native token named MANA has charged up about 3,900% and The Sandbox's SAND token has climbed by 14,000%, according to figures from CoinMarketCap.
Solana was trading at $152.33 late Monday afternoon, up over 10,000% in that past year.
The growth has taken place as companies lay the groundwork for gamers, shoppers, and others worldwide to accelerate their time in the metaverse.
