What happened
Cryptocurrency investors are once again in a world of pain today. For those in the more speculative areas of the digital asset markets, these losses are even greater.
Among the key decliners on watch for many high-growth crypto investors are Axie Infinity (AXS 3.70%), The Sandbox (SAND 4.06%) and Decentraland (MANA 2.58%). As of 2:30 p.m. ET, these three tokens have declined 6.3%, 6.2% and 4.2%, respectively, outpacing the declines seen in the broader market over the past 24 hours.
Most of this fallout appears to be tied to newfound sector-specific contagion fears related to the collapse of yet another bank tied to the crypto sector. Today, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officially took control of SVB Financial, as the bank's stock was halted.
This collapse compounds existing contagion fears tied to the earlier collapse of crypto bank Silvergate Capital, which announced plans to wind down operations on Wednesday.
So what
Axie Infinity, The Sandbox, and Decentraland are three prominent metaverse cryptocurrencies that have seen significant investment during the previous bull market rally. Whether from institutional, corporate or retail investors who may have banked with Silvergate, or via venture capital partners who may have received financing via SVB, the positive flow of capital into such high-growth projects has undoubtedly been one of the biggest drivers of token price appreciation in recent years.
Thus, the declines seen in these significant metaverse projects may not be unexpected by investors who expect such volatility. As higher-beta options in an already risky sector, the direction of capital flows matters to a greater degree for projects such as these.
Now what
Whether the collapse of SVB will meaningfully lead to less investment in these metaverse projects may be debated. Yes, plenty of venture capital funds have focused on digital assets in recent years, as the valuations of many of these projects have surged. However, it's unclear what the exact fallout will be for specific companies involved in this space.
Until more is known, the market may continue to gyrate in either direction. Notably, these three tokens have made up some of their earlier morning losses, suggesting some investors are still buying the dips.
Personally, I think these three cryptos are projects are too speculative to own in this generally bearish market. That said, I'll be following how these projects perform in the coming days and weeks.
