Facebook gave crypto a jolt of confidence after it renamed itself Meta Platforms , signaling its embrace of the metaverse—immersive virtual worlds where people can work, play games, conduct e-commerce, and socially interact.
Crypto companies, online gaming, and digital assets broadly should benefit. A winner could be online gaming platforms and marketplaces that use nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, as in-game tokens and collectibles. Many of those companies viewed the Facebook pivot as “validation of their efforts,” wrote BTIG analyst Mark Palmer. Momentum could build for virtual economies built around play-to-earn gaming models and NFTs.
Palmer highlights Decentraland, an online community where users can create avatars of themselves and interact. It bills itself as the “first-ever virtual world owned by its users.” Its native token, MANA, surged over 300% after Meta’s announcement and may be used to buy virtual property on Decentraland and govern the online world. Virtual plots sold for more than $900,000 on the platform in June. And auction house Sotheby’s opened a gallery in Decentraland’s art district for auctioning NFTs.
Other tokens also jumped, he notes, including The Sandbox’s SAND, Wilder Worlds’ WILD, and Alien Worlds’ TLM. Many are based on the Ethereum blockchain, or side chains. That could benefit the Ethereum token, ETH.
Beneficiaries
Crypto online communities and their game tokens saw a surge of interest after Facebook changed its name.
| Platform | Token | Recent Price* | Market Cap (bil) | Performance (Last 7 Days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Decentraland | MANA | $2.81 | $3.71 | 251% |
| The Sandbox | SAND | 2.99 | 2.68 | 248 |
| Wilder World | WILD | 3.65 | 0.27 | 53 |
| Alien Worlds | TLM | 0.30 | 0.36 | 67 |
*Nov. 3.
Source: CoinGecko.com
A long-term beneficiary: Coinbase Global , the largest U.S. trading platform for cryptos and the second-largest globally. With a 68 million user base, Coinbase is adding more cryptos, developing institutional services, and building an NFT marketplace.
Next Week
Monday 11/08
AMC Entertainment Holdings , PayPal Holdings , and Roblox release quarterly results.
Tuesday 11/09
BioNTech, Cardinal Health , Coinbase Global , DoorDash , D.R. Horton , Palantir Technologies , and Sysco report earnings.
Broadcom hosts an investor day in New York.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the producer price index for October. Expectations are for a 0.6% month-over-month rise. The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, is seen gaining 0.4%. This compares with increases of 0.5% and 0.2%, respectively, in September.
The National Federation of Independent Business releases its Small Business Optimism Index for October. Economists forecast a 98.5 reading, slightly less than the September number.
Wednesday 11/10
Walt Disney reports fiscal fourth-quarter 2021 results. The stock is down 1%, compared with the S&P 500’s 7% gain, since Sept. 21, when CEO Bob Chapek issued a warning about the growth of its streaming services.
Affirm Holdings and SoFi Technologies announce quarterly results.
Electric-truck maker Rivian is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker RIVN. The Amazon.com
-backed company is offering 135 million shares at $57 to $62 each, giving it a valuation of roughly $53 billion.
Equifax , Mastercard , and Rockwell Automation hold investor meetings.
The BLS releases the consumer price index for October. Consensus estimate is for a 6% year-over-year gain, compared with a 5.4% jump in September. The core CPI is expected to increase at a 4.4% clip, faster than September’s 4% growth rate.
Thursday 11/11
U.S. fixed-income markets are closed in observance of Veterans Day.
Brookfield Asset Management , Organon, and Tapestry hold conference calls to discuss earnings.
NXP Semiconductors hosts an investor day in New York.
Friday 11/12
AstraZeneca releases quarterly results.
Becton Dickinson hosts an investor day virtually.
The University of Michigan releases its Consumer Sentiment index for October. Consensus estimate is for a 72.5 reading, slightly higher than September’s.
The BLS releases the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey. Economists forecast 10 million job openings on the last business day of September, about 400,000 fewer than in August, but still a historically elevated level.
Write to Daren Fonda at [email protected]
