In a startling turn of events, the cryptocurrency gaming world on Telegram has been rocked by a significant market downturn. Two of the platform’s most popular “tap-to-earn” games, Hamster Kombat and Catizen, have seen their token values plummet by over 50% mere days after their highly anticipated launch on The Open Network (TON).
This dramatic decline has sent shockwaves through the crypto gaming community and raised serious questions about the sustainability of these projects.
Token Distribution Controversies and User Backlash
Hamster Kombat’s HMSTR token has been particularly affected, with its value plummeting 30.86% to $0.0046 within a week of its September 26 launch.
Despite the game claiming a 300 million user base, only 35% of players received the HMSTR airdrop. This discrepancy was partly due to the banning of 2.3 million players for alleged cheating, while many others failed to meet the eligibility criteria for the token distribution.
The launch of HMSTR was marred by controversy, with users expressing dissatisfaction over several aspects of the token distribution. A publication revealed that over 11% of the 60 billion HMSTR tokens allocated for the first Season would be locked up for 10 months, preventing any sales during this period.
This decision, coupled with complaints about the small allocation of tokens to regular users and the perceived favoritism towards influencers who received larger airdrops, has fueled discontent within the Hamster Kombat community.
Catizen faced similar challenges with its CATI token, which experienced a 31.39% drop to $0.47. The total market value of CATI tokens has more than halved, now standing at $138 million. The token distribution process for Catizen also faced criticism for its perceived flaws, with eligibility based on player performance across seven leagues.
Current Market Status and Future Implications
As of the latest update, Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) price is trading at $0.004597, with a 24-hour trading volume of $120,988,063. This represents a 4.22% price decline in the last 24 hours and a 30.50% drop in the past week. With a circulating supply of 64 billion HMSTR, the project’s market cap stands at $295,825,261.
Catizen (CATI) price has shown a slight recovery, with its price increasing to $0.472. The 24 hour trading volume is $127.7 Million, reflecting a 2.23% price increase in the last 24 hours. However, it still shows a 30.38% decline over the past week. With a circulating supply of 210 million CATI, Catizen’s market cap is currently $97,241,300.
These developments have led analysts to question the sustainability of Telegram-based crypto games and their token ecosystems. The primary concern is that many of these games offer limited utility beyond player rewards, which may not be sufficient to maintain long-term value and user engagement.