GameFi

Chris Dixon of a16z Crypto and Haseeb Qureshi of Dragonfly set out opposing views on whether crypto can scale beyond finance. In 2025, venture funding surpassed $20 billion, with Q4 contributing $8.5 billion across 425 deals, while DeFi metrics showed a TVL near $99.07 billion and stablecoin supply above $307 billion. Their exchange frames finance as the most validated use so far.

On February 9, 2026, Axie Infinity's AXS rose over 15% after rebounding from the $1.20 support, with volume spiking about 250% and price moving above $1.56. Interest followed Sky Mavis's bAXS rollout and a February 5, 2026 utility post. A failure to clear $1.60 could leave a dead cat bounce risk toward $0.80.

On Friday, a16z crypto managing partner Chris Dixon argued that non-financial crypto applications have lagged due to scams, extractive behavior, and regulatory pressure, and he emphasized a 10-year build horizon. On Sunday, Dragonfly’s Haseeb Qureshi countered that these products failed because demand was absent, while Castle Island’s Nic Carter said venture theses must prove out within a 2–3 year deployment window.

On 1 February 2026, six notable crypto projects were highlighted for their positioning ahead of the next potential altcoin uptrend, including ZKP, Solana, Avalanche, Sui, The Sandbox, and Axie Infinity. These projects are being tracked for factors such as ecosystem development, long-term usage, and infrastructure design rather than short-lived hype. They span privacy-focused AI computation, high-speed base layers, scalable smart contracts, and gaming or metaverse platforms.

On January 30, 2026, Otters announced a Telegram Mini App on the TON blockchain to streamline Web3 onboarding. The platform uses daily rewards, short farming cycles, and mini games, and has organically attracted tens of thousands of users. New features include the TON Badge for verified P2P Quick Share and an in-app NFT Collection Store.

According to CoinMarketCap, AXS rose 10.79% over the past week but slipped 15% from $3 since Saturday, failing to close above $2.92. The weekly RSI moved above 50 for the first time since late December 2024, while a bearish divergence on the 1‑day RSI and Fibonacci levels point to $1.878, with $1.238–$1.878 as a reassessment zone.

On Jan. 21, Axie Infinity launched Origins Season 16 with a bonded rewards model and an 80,000 bAXS prize pool. By Jan. 22, 2026, AXS had climbed 130% week over week and 190% month over month to around $2.50, as reputation‑linked Treasury fees for converting bAXS to AXS drew market attention.

The Sandbox's SAND recorded a 2.24% daily gain as trading volume rose over 113%, bucking broader market weakness. The token cleared a months-long declining structure and reclaimed mid-range levels, bringing the $0.20 area into view as derivatives interest builds and exchange outflows suggest steady accumulation.

Axie Infinity's AXS rose 14% in the past 24 hours, extending the recent strength in gaming tokens while many peers failed to hold gains. Price momentum now faces a decision zone at $2 after a breakout above $1 and a recovery from $1.6. Exchange flows and holder trends are mixed, keeping near-term direction uncertain.

On January 17, The Sandbox token SAND rose nearly 15% after a tight consolidation. The surge came with spot volume around $140 million and Open Interest near $25 million, while price closed above the 20- and 50-day EMAs. Holder counts kept climbing through mid-January, signaling broader participation.