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Record network activity and a second NFT boom send WAX price higher

Just a few days before Bitcoin (BTC) price plunged below $30,000, the NFT sector was dominating headlines for the second time in 2021, led by a month-long 972% surge in the price of Axie Infinity. 

Another NFT-focused protocol that has been gaining fundamental strength in recent months is Worldwide Asset eXchange, also known as WAX — a protocol that claims to “deliver the safest and most convenient way to create, buy, sell, and trade virtual items to anyone, anywhere in the world.”

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that between June 27 and July 9, the price of WAX’s WAXP token climbed 70% to a high of $0.151 before the Bitcoin-led sell-off pulled the price to its current value of $0.11.

Three reasons for the rally in WAXP include the growing list of well-known brands launching collectibles on the project’s blockchain, an active network with fast transaction times and its integration to decentralized finance via cross-chain compatibility with the Ethereum (ETH) network.

Popular brands launch NFT projects on WAX

Nostalgia can be a potent source for attracting an audience willing to engage with a product and WAX has managed to capitalize on this by partnering with somewell-known brands in the United States.

Current partners include Atari, Topps, William Shatner and Capcom and a scroll through the project’s Twitter feed shows recent campaigns for Street Fighter V Series 2 cards and special edition Bratz collectibles.

Popular collectibles like baseball cards and Garbage Pail Kids, along with more modern games like Alien Worlds (TLM) offer users a variety of options that help attract a wide audience to the WAX network and this has resulted in an increase in on-chain activity.

WAX boasts the highest activity of any network

A second sign of the growing strength of the WAX network can be found by looking at the 24-hour activity of the top-ranked blockchains, which WAX leads by a wide margin.

Data from Blocktivity shows that the 24-hour activity on WAX is now higher than 17 million operations and more than double that of Stellar (XLM), which is its closest competitor. WAX  more than six times the amount of activity on EOS, the creator of the EOSIO software which is utilized by the WAX network.

Yield opportunities arrive through DeFi and staking

The recent introduction of a cross-chain bridge to the Ethereum network allowed WAX to of yield farming and staking on the protocol, which has been enhanced through the introduction of a cross-chain bridge to the Ethereum network.

The WAX blockchain operates with a delegated proof-of-stake consensus model, meaning the simplest way that token holders can earn a yield on their holdings is by staking WAXP on the network to earn an annualized reward rate of 4.42% according to data from Staking Rewards.

Related: Altcoin Roundup: Data shows social metrics surge ahead of DeFi and NFT price rallies

Token holders can also convert their WAXP into WAXE, a version of the token that can operate on Ethereum and be used to participate in decentralized finance (DeFi) by providing liquidity on decentralized exchanges and yield farms.

Through offering opportunities related to NFTs and DeFi, two of the hottest sectors in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, the WAX network is well-positioned to continue to attract new users and maintain a high level of on-chain activity.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.