Following a prolonged period of doubt and waning enthusiasm, crypto gaming has returned to the center stage — and it has brought with it a regenerated hunger from centralized exchanges (CEXes).
The event that set this all off? The ripsnorting launch of MapleStory’s native token, $NXPC, which has smashed to smithereens several narratives around gaming tokens and their profitability.
$2.4 Billion in Volume Signals Strong Market Demand
In just several hours post-launch, $NXPC had racked up a colossal $2.4 billion in total trading volume across such key exchanges as Binance, Upbit, Bybit, Gate.io, KuCoin, and Crypto.com. This tally includes trading in both the spot and perpetual futures markets, which, for the sake of clarity, we’d like to point out are two different ways to trade the same underlying asset.
For exchanges, this volume surge turned directly into profits. Judging by the standard trading fees of 0.1% to 0.3%, platforms probably earned something like $2.5 million to $7.5 million in trading fees alone — and that doesn’t even count the upfront listing fees, which probably aren’t cheap either. Historically, listing a highly-anticipated token like $NXPC can command fees in the range of six to seven figures, especially when several top-tier exchanges are involved.
This event challenges the common and perhaps comfortable belief that listing crypto gaming tokens is not a money-making venture. In fact, it shows the opposite: that with the right mix of project and demand, both CEXes and traders can see a significant financial uptick.
Liquidity and Trading Opportunities Drive Profit Potential
For a long time, liquidity has been a sore point for traders when it comes to crypto gaming tokens. Traders have faced slippage, low volume, and wide spreads. The launch of $NXPC was a precise exception to this observation. The debut of the token brought deep liquidity pools and tight spreads that enabled an active, and you could say, a definitely profitable trading environment.
Speculators took quick advantage of the situation. There was enough trading volume for speculative price movement to exist, but the real entertainment was had by swing traders and short-term investors. The spectacle of a vibrant, liquid market for a token tied to the gaming industry is very much a CEX-driven affair at this point and should not be confused with any sort of tectonic shift in the decentralized finance ecosystem.
Smart Money Whale Nets $2.9M Profit in Hours
Compounding the mystery, blockchain sleuths saw a prominent trader make a big and bold investment around the time of an apparent launch. Roughly three hours after the reveal of $NXPC, the cryptocurrency linked to the anomalous trading, a wallet controlled by a well-known crypto trader went and bought a whopping 1.136 million $NXPC tokens, shelling out 2,175.4 BNB, worth about $1.42 million at the time.
Buying tokens at an average price of $1.25 each, this whale tiled a bet that has now turned into a threefold increase. Today’s price for $NXPC is $3.80. That puts the whale’s current holding value at around $4.31 million. The whale realized a profit of about $2.9 million in just a few short weeks. It is gains like these that keep alive the idea that well-planned token launches can lead to wealth accumulation.
Such maneuvers underscore not just the profit potential for individual traders but also the potential for institutional downside protection. When traders with deep pockets make big bets on gaming tokens, it suggests their working confidence in a renewed sector. And that is, of course, a confidence boost for every other sector player.
Conclusion: Crypto Gaming Isn’t Dead — It’s Profitable Again
$NXPC’s success is something that can no longer be ignored. It serves as a necessary reminder for exchanges, traders, and developers to heed. For months, many CEXes have been avoiding gaming tokens, fearing them as being high-risk, low-margin instruments. But with the underpinning of strong intellectual property and a vibrant community, $NXPC has shown that crypto gaming can rewrite the old playbook. In its place, we now see a new and powerful engine capable of producing growth and generating revenue.
Following this launch, we may see a fresh push in the listing of gaming tokens, as exchanges now compete to snag the next breakout success. But the story of this moment is that crypto gaming is more than just an industry — it might very well be a subculture with its own vital signs.
Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.
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