If you’re active on Crypto Twitter, you already know Portalcoin has been blowing up the airwaves lately. The new Web3 gaming token created by the omnichannel interoperability protocol LayerZero Labs claims it will “onboard the first billion gamers into Web3.”
The token is expected to launch in a few weeks, but degens are already knee-deep in their farming efforts. To grind (or farm), users can connect their X account to the grinding site to participate in a game called ‘Crystal Dash.‘
Here’s how it works. First, points are rewarded to users who create content related to Portalcoin, such as text posts, memes, and even just sharing posts. The points are rewarded as ‘crystal shards,‘ which can be merged together to create crystals. When the $PORTAL token drops, the crystals can be traded for the token.
Unsurprisingly, degens eager at the prospect of free crypto have been hopping on the Portalcoin bandwagon. But the visibility that Portalcoin’s receiving on X appears to be superior to other similar products like Memecoin and Tipcoin. In fact, the strategy has generated over 1 million posts about Portalcoin, causing the project to trend on X globally. And it’s attracted some big players from the crypto space, including 9GAG’s Ray and Gordon Goner.
The Portalcoin team also boasts several partners like Magic Eden, which they claim will integrate the $PORTAL token into their NFT marketplace, as well as esports — though the nature of that partnership is unclear. They are also working on developing more Web3 games while working with existing popular games like Space Nation and Nine Chronicles.
For now, the creators of Portalcoin remain anonymous. But they have an ambitious goal — to become the biggest gaming platform in Web3. To do so, they are focused on User Generated Content, which has helped other games like Fortnite Creative and Roblox grow. In an interview with nft now, they spoke of how they intend to reward users on Twitter for “creating fun, engaging content around Portal.”
Of course, the new project doesn’t come without its critics. Some say Portalcoin is monetizing the goodwill of the community for an airdrop, and that it could be a reputation killer in the long run for those involved. Others are clearly getting in the game out of fear of missing out (FOMO).
We’ll have to wait until the token drops to see how well participators are rewarded, and if the project has any staying power in the space. But this certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen a coin take the Web3 space by storm. And if Portalcoin can prove to have utility in the Web3 gaming space, it could be here for the long run.
Web3 Gaming Is Positioned to Explode
We’ve seen our fair share of coins come and go. But one thing that’s particularly interesting about Portalcoin is the project’s connection to Web3 gaming, which appears to be gaining more steam by the day. At Rarity Sniper, we’ve covered dozens of articles about Web3 gaming’s rise recently. Here are the top three headlines, all from the past month.
First, last week, we reported that Neo Tokyo NFTs rose from 5 ETH to nearly 20 ETH in just under 30 days. The Web3 gaming project uses NFTs as membership tokens, allowing holders to join divisions within the community, which have produced various gaming and metaverse projects already.
Next, Animoca Brands partnered with Ubisoft, a top gaming company, to integrate upcoming Ubisoft games into the Animoca Brands‘ ‘Mocaverse.‘ Animoca Brands is committed to onboarding users into Web3 through gaming, entertainment, and culture, and this partnership with Ubisoft brings it closer to its goal.
Finally, a month ago, a new report from DappRadar revealed that blockchain-based games had secured $600 million in funding in Quarter 3 of 2023. That raised the total amount of funding to $2.3 billion on the year. There was also a 12% increase in unique active wallets for Web3 games in Q3.
Gaming always seemed like a sensible way to use Web3 technologies like NFTs and crypto, and now it looks like the industry is starting to make some major headway. Portalcoin still has a long way to go to become a top player in the space, but for now, it’s the talk of the town (or at least Crypto Twitter Town). At Rarity Sniper, we’ll be on the lookout for the $PORTAL token drop and any news that comes with it.