Metaverse-related cryptocurrencies like Axie Infinity and Decentraland are up 37,000% this year, crushing bitcoin and other altcoins

• A bucket of metaverse-related cryptocurrencies is up 37,000% this year, Macro Hive data show.
• The bucket includes Axie Infinity, a play-to-earn platform, and Decentraland, where players can buy digital land.

Metaverse-related cryptocurrencies have surged an eye-popping 37,000% this year — far exceeding the gains of bitcoin, data from Macro Hive shows.

The data was based on the gains of five coins: Axie Infinity, Decentraland, Sandbox, Enjin Coin, and GALA, which rallied 20% over the past seven days alone, the data showed.

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The coins are part of the metaverse, a term for the next phase of the internet where people can live, work, and play in the digital world. Small versions of the metaverse have already begun popping up. Axie Infinity, for example, allows users to play games to earn crypto. And in Decentraland, players can own digital land and other assets.

The metaverse rally was likely "turbocharged" by Facebook's decision to rebrand to Meta Platforms as a sign of its push into the future internet, according to Macro Hive, a UK-based research firm. The data was first reported on by Bloomberg.

Macro Hive put cryptocurrencies in four emerging categories: bitcoin, smart contract platforms, metaverse, and decentralized finance (DeFi).

While metaverse coins were the "clear outperformer," those related to smart contracts, which include applications based on ethereum, solana, cardano, avalanche, and polkadot, came in second with a whopping 2,355% rally in 2021.

In third was DeFi, which counts services like Uniswap and PancakeSwap built on top of blockchain networks. The group rallied 584% this year, Macro Hive said. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency equivalent of gold, is up 97%, a meager gain when compared with the rest of the bucket, Macro Hive said.