Introduction

Notcoin is a GameFi game based on Telegram, attracting tens of millions of users and attention, with daily active users reaching a peak of 6 million. The token NOT will be launched on CEX trading platforms on May 16, and combined with the development layout of the TON ecosystem, it may become an opportunity to trigger a GameFi trend.

A GameFi with Simple Design and Impressive Past Data

Although it features gamification and fun designs, the basic gameplay of Notcoin is simply repetitive clicking to mine and earn token rewards. This straightforward mechanism design has led to its rapid rise in popularity; within a week of its launch, it attracted over 5 million players. By early April, when the game was paused (to prepare for token issuance), it had already attracted 35 million players globally, with daily active users reaching 6 million, far exceeding other crypto games.

In early March, Notcoin allowed elite players to convert large amounts of in-game currency into NFT vouchers, which could be traded before the official issuance of its tokens. Data shows that there are approximately 500,000 Notcoin NFTs in circulation, valued at 10M=9TON (calculated at 5U), with a market value of about 22.5 million USD and a total trading volume of 2 million TON, amounting to about 10 million in transaction value. The highest transaction price occurred on March 13 at 10M=66TON, while the lowest price was on March 20 at 10M=3.7TON.

The popularity of Notcoin highlights the game's ability to attract users by allowing them to earn within the game, showcasing its immense potential. Compared to many other GameFi projects, Notcoin, while also featuring various value-added designs and gameplay (team cooperation, points leagues, energy management, and referral rewards), has a simpler and clearer path and task design, making it easier for users to accept and become addicted.

Obvious Meme Characteristics, Perfectly Presenting Play and Earn

Notcoin has been mocked by the community for its blank white paper; although labeled as a white paper, the document is essentially blank except for the title and date. This has raised doubts about the project's long-term viability and the seriousness of its developers. However, it has made Notcoin's community more vibrant, seemingly fully tapping into the curiosity and speculative enthusiasm of the entertainment crypto world. Coupled with its simple Play and Earn model, Notcoin has become a perfect combination of GameFi and Meme.

A Key Project in the TON Ecosystem, Widely Viewed as Having Breakout Potential

Currently, Notcoin has received clear support from the TON official team and has a massive user base. Notcoin effectively promotes various projects within the TON ecosystem, such as STON.fi and Fragment, through game tasks. It serves more as a key layout for the TON ecosystem, existing as an entry point for broad ecosystem participation rather than just an entertainment project.

In the days leading up to the launch of NOT, the TVL of the TON network has significantly increased. As of May 10, the TVL was 41.16 million TON, growing about 35% in May and increasing sevenfold in 2024 to date, highlighting the strong demand for TON and also confirming the pull effect of NOT on the TON ecosystem.

The TON ecosystem is currently in its early stages, backed by Telegram's vast user base, and its development potential is undeniable. With precedents set by Solana and Base in empowering the MemeCoin ecosystem to achieve breakout growth in TVL, Notcoin is seen as a key project that could help TON expand beyond its current boundaries. Compared to the development of TVL in ecosystem projects, leveraging Meme to boost popularity has become a more easily achievable method in the short term.

However, the risk lies in the fact that Notcoin, as a symbolic product of the crypto community's novelty and speculation, is more driven by community participation and hype rather than substantive technological innovation. Moreover, over 20 million USD worth of NFTs have circulated before the secondary market launch, which may lead to significant selling pressure when NOT goes live. Nevertheless, based on the current fundamentals and DEX trading data, NOT still holds great potential post-launch.

Dan Morehead, founder of Pantera Capital, mentioned on social media that Pantera recently made the largest investment in the history of the fund in Telegram's TON blockchain project, increasing attention on the Ton ecosystem. If project financing and product launches can be implemented in a timely manner, the prosperity of the Ton ecosystem will arrive more quickly.

Soon to Launch on Binance, Market Heat Rapidly Soaring

Reports indicate that the trading platforms where NOT will soon be launched include Binance, Bybit, OKX, and Bitget, and it is set to launch on Binance's Launchpool on May 13, accounting for 3% of the total issuance. Additionally, OKX plans to distribute approximately 1.28 billion NOT tokens to users through Jumpstart, representing 1.25% of the total NOT token supply.

With the positive stimulus from NOT's launch on platforms like Binance, AEVO began pre-trading for NOT on May 9, with the price rising from $0.0056 to $0.01183. Various chains have also seen NOT tokens appear on DEX, although their authenticity is hard to verify, they have indeed increased the market heat for NOT, especially with the explosion of related information in X, which has prepared the ground for its launch on major trading platforms. This has once again made the TON ecosystem a focal point in the market.

Notcoin May Become a New Way to Unlock GameFi

Since 2021, the crypto market has witnessed a GameFi boom, giving rise to hundreds of GameFi projects, with Axie Infinity, Decentraland, The Sandbox, and StepN becoming focal points. At its peak, Axie's daily revenue even surpassed that of Honor of Kings. However, as the craze subsided, GameFi has consistently shown that while the track remains hot, there aren't enough star projects to support it.

Nonetheless, GameFi has a vast potential market, and practitioners and users have never forgotten it. Looking back at the investment records of industry VCs, GameFi projects have consistently ranked in the top three, second only to infrastructure and DeFi. Moreover, the evolution of people's perception of GameFi projects has shifted from "Play to Earn" to "Play and Earn," yet GameFi projects anchored in traditional gaming have struggled to satisfy both existing and new users.

Notcoin, relying on the explosion of the TON ecosystem and Telegram, although sudden, is within reason. Compared to other "Play and Earn" projects, Notcoin appears more direct and aligns better with the preferences and characteristics of users in the current market, which may very well become a new way to unlock GameFi. The launch of NOT could also serve as an opportunity for the resurgence of the GameFi trend; let us wait and see!