Pixelverse, the project behind rising Telegram game PixelTap, announced Monday that it will launch its PIXFI token on The Open Network (TON) on Thursday, July 18, tweeting that “major centralized exchanges” are set to list the token at 12pm UTC.
The PIXFI token launch comes amid a surge in demand for Telegram-based games. After Notcoin pulled in 35 million players earlier this year and dropped the year’s largest gaming token launch in May, other games on the messaging platform started gaining steam. Pixelverse says it attracted 50 million new players in June alone.
But tokens from those other games haven’t materialized yet. Hamster Kombat has said that it will launch its token on TON this month, but there’s still no date—and the creators of the Notcoin-esque game TapSwap have said they’ll launch sometime this quarter.
Kori Leon, co-founder of Pixelverse, told Decrypt’s GG that they’re taking a different path than some other major Telegram games, getting the token out sooner than later.
“Pixelverse, with its token PIXFI, is the first to launch in the Telegram ecosystem since Notcoin. This launch coincides with a market showing signs of recovery,” he said. “Other tokens in the TON ecosystem, such as Hamster Kombat, announced a second airdrop but did not proceed with the listing initially rumored for the end of May. Meanwhile, TapSwap has postponed its launch to Q3.”
Pixelverse announced last week that it raised $7.5 million in supplemental funding from Galaxy and other investors, following a $5.5 million raise announced in June that featured participation from Delphi Digital, Merit Circle, and others.
Can the latest batch of surging Telegram games recreate the on-chain hype of Notcoin? It’s the burning question that tens of millions of players can’t wait to get answered. Even Leon didn’t come off as cocky in the face of that challenge, as tap-to-earn combat game PixelTap continues to gain prominence in the Telegram gaming space.
“As we anticipate the results of the tap-to-earn trend, it remains to be seen if Pixelverse will achieve the same success as Notcoin,” he told Decrypt. “However, it is undeniable that Telegram mini-games have successfully onboarded millions of users in the recent months to the crypto space, regardless of the financial outcomes.”
The other burning question for players, of course, is whether they can expect an airdrop of the PIXFI token. Leon wouldn’t share hard details but said the goal with the token is to encourage extended rewards and incentives rather than dumping it all at once on users.
“This positions Pixelverse more as a play-to-earn game, using tapping mechanics in PixelTap to grow their audience and build their community before expanding their game,” he said. “Players will be able to claim and receive PIXFI tokens and in-game assets, but the exact details of how this will work are still unknown.”
Leon added that the project aims to “redefine” tap-to-earn rewards by not disclosing the allocation to users, but noted that ultimately 30% of the total PIXFI supply is designed for “long-term game rewards.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.