Avalanche Watch: April 2024

What’s New on Avalanche

Delegating Addresses Surpass 155k - The total number of primary network validators surpassed 1,700 with over 155k delegators, 260 subnet validators, and 40 active subnets. According to snowpeer.io, this gives Avalanche a nakamoto coefficient (a common method for measuring decentralization) of over 100, marking Avalanche as one of the most decentralized blockchain networks. 

New Benchmarks Set for HyperSDK - The Ava Labs engineering team recently released a demonstration of a HyperSDK virtual machine processing an impressive 5 billion micropayments at a sustained 100k transactions per second. The demonstration involved 10 million active accounts across 5 regions with a 50 validator set sending each other transfers. Watch the demo here. 

Homium Introduces Tokenized Home Equity Loans - Homium is a new platform that allows homeowners in Colorado to take out a new kind of loan. This loan does not require borrowers to pay a monthly payment, and instead, a portion of the home appreciation is allocated to pay down the loan. Homium marks one more use case of the tokenization of real world assets on Avalanche. Learn more here. 

Feature Introduces Smart Content - Feature.io leverages Avalanche-powered APIs to integrate Web3 functionalities into any streaming platform or media file, expanding accessibility and interoperability in the digital content landscape. Feature launched a successful pilot with Netflix, distributing collectibles for season 3 of Love, Death and Robots. Learn more here.  

Avalanche Powers New Experience at Coachella - Coachella has introduced "Coachella Quests," an Avalanche blockchain-powered game that enhances the festival experience by rewarding attendees for engaging in both virtual and on-site activities. Participants can earn digital stamps and points for completing various quests, which can be exchanged for exclusive prizes and experiences, with the integration of the OpenSea Wallet allowing for easy collection of rewards​

New Stripe Integration - Avalanche has partnered with Stripe to facilitate the purchase of AVAX directly through Stripe's platform, bypassing traditional crypto exchanges. This integration, available in the U.S., embeds a fiat-to-crypto onramp within Avalanche dApps like DEXes and NFT platforms, simplifying the process for users to fund their wallets and engage in transactions

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The Past Month in Decentralized Finance (DeFi)

Daily DEX Volumes Peaks in Mid-April - Trader Joe continues its run as the preferred DEX on Avalanche, with Dexalot and Pangolin growing in market share. Overall DEX volumes spiked in mid-April with a broader market rally, and has since traded relatively flat. 

Trader Joe Sees Short-term Spike in TVL - Trader Joe saw a considerable increase in total value locked in mid-April, but the funds were quickly removed, realigning the total value locked trends with the rest of the month. Of the largest protocols on Avalanche, BenQi Protocol saw the largest nominal drawdown. 

The Past Month in Gaming (GameFi) 

Beam Supports over 60k Active Senders - The Beam blockchain saw a considerable spike in usage in early April. In April, Merit Circle announced many beam-related developments including new mobile version of Raini Studio’s Lords of Light, new gaming development teams like infygamestech, new games like Forgot Playland, and builder series appearance with The Tie found here. 

The Past Month in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)

Avalanche had a strong NFT sales volume month as NFT volume increased 103.6% since last month for a total of 674,535 AVAX. Most of the sales volume was driven by Avax Hyperspace, as season 6 of the rewards program distributed over 30,000 AVAX to Avax Hyperspace users.  

1. Dokyo (590,770 AVAX) - Dokyo has remained the most traded profile picture NFT collection on Avalanche. Dokyo was the genesis collection for Avalanche’s most popular NFT platform Hyperspace. 

2. Long Long Legacy (33,830 AVAX) - Based on mythical folk lore of the Chinese Culture, The Jade Emperor organized The Heavenly Gate Race where the first 12 animals that passes the gate will earn a spot as the Jade Emperor's guard. On top of that each year will be named after the winners in sequence. Of all creatures, the Dragon was expected to win the race due to its ability to fly. During the race however, the Dragon stopped multiple times to help villagers who were in need of help causing the Dragon to place 5th in The Heavenly Gate Race ranking.

3. Comfy Kroox (27,231 AVAX)- A collection of Kroox with different attributes. Comfy Kroox owners can send two Kroox to their The Arena profile and earn the nochill badge. 

4. BabySkullz (19,704 AVAX) 500 BabySkullz were created through stochastic generation.

5. Steady (4388 AVAX) - Steady is a 2,500 piece PFP collection that prioritizes instilling a strong, fun, and original human element into digital identities. Steady launched in January.

Project Spotlight - Salvor

Salvor.io, an Avalanche NFT marketplace that also supports NFT borrowing/lending, has shown considerable growth despite a tough broader market backdrop. 

Salvor staking, which includes Salvor NFTs and $ART staking, has increased 674% since the beginning of February. 

Through the platform, NFT owners can earn a return for lending out their NFTs, which include the most popular NFTs on Avalanche like IDokyo, Steady, Chikn and others.

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