Is ApeCoin (APE) about to lose its ‘top metaverse token’ tag?

Highlights

• The metaverse is often viewed as an amalgamation of entertainment, gaming, art, music, and digital tokens
• ApeCoin’s metaverse is Otherside, which was launched earlier this year, however, it has yet to get as much patronage as other metaverses
• The Sandbox is conducting an event titled Alpha Season 3 with content from the likes of rapper Snoop Dogg

Did you know that almost within a month after its launch in March this year, ApeCoin (APE) became the largest metaverse cryptocurrency. Before ApeCoin, the metaverse category was ruled by Axie Infinity (AXS), Decentraland (MANA), and The Sandbox (SAND).

It was Axie Infinity, which rose very sharply in 2020, which arguably fueled the metaverse gaming frenzy. Now, even as ApeCoin sits at the top, will the token be able to maintain its dominance in the category over the near-to-medium term? How is ApeCoin’s metaverse, Otherside, faring in comparison to metaverses of its nearest competitors?

Let us explore these aspects and also look at the possibility of any near-term change in the ranking of metaverse cryptos.

ApeCoin’s Otherside metaverse

Otherside entered the cryptocurrency world this year, and the project’s backers include the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC). It was co-developed by Yuga Labs, which created BAYC and also contributed to the ApeCoin cryptocurrency project. That said, Otherside’s metaverse has yet to find as much success as its competitors like The Sandbox’s, which counts partners like Adidas and Snoop Dogg. ApeCoin has been designated the utility token of Otherside.

The Otherside metaverse has comparable offerings -- plots of land as NFTs, gaming, entertainment, and so on -- like other popular metaverses. The Sandbox is now running its event titled, the Alpha Season 3. Otherside is arguably not as much active as The Sandbox.

ApeCoin (APE) token vs. others

ApeCoin’s market cap is nearly US$1.65 billion as of writing, while that of the number two metaverse, Decentraland, is US$1.56 billion. The Sandbox ranks third in the category, and its market cap is over US$1.5 billion. The losses sustained by all three over the past one week are also comparable.

It means that ApeCoin might be in danger of being toppled but only if any of the close competitors is able to pull off a sharp rally in price. Decentraland and The Sandbox’s metaverses are quite popular. A virtual piece of land on Decentraland was purchased last year for a whopping US$2.4 million.

Data provided by CoinMarketCap.com

Also read: What is The Sandbox Alpha Season 3 & how is SAND crypto faring?

Bottom line

The competition within the metaverse category is high, and market caps of the top three tokens are very close to each other. ApeCoin’s close competitors only need a single sharp rally to trump the APE token from the numero uno position. On the other hand, however, if ApeCoin pulls off such a rally, it can further consolidate its grip in the category, and hence nothing is certain.

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