NFT gaming and a tsunami of trading volume lift Waves to a new all-time high

Nonfungible tokens (NFT) have handsomely rewarded early investors over the past few months, especially as they gained mainstream attention thanks to record-breaking digital art sales and well-known influencers like Paris Hilton throwing their support behind the sector. 
April has seen the hype behind NFTs quiet down some, but the recent growth in Waves (WAVES) shows that there is still plenty of excitement remaining in the cryptocurrency community for newly released NFT projects.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that the price of Waves has increased 320% in 2021, climbing from a low of $4.86 on Jan. 4 to a new all-time high at $20.82 on April 9 thanks to a record $883 million in 24-hour trading volume.
NFT airdrop lures new investors
Excitement for WAVES reached a new peak today after the protocol released Duck Hunters, a game that combines NFT collectibles with yield farming.

Who let the ducks out? #Waves did! The Duck Hunters’ season is now officially on. Collect $EGG tokens for completing tasks & build your own duck empire with #NFT tokens. Check the roadmap with buyback details and beyond. Ducks are coming after you!https://t.co/AF8Ws3QJUW

— Waves Tech (@wavesprotocol) April 9, 2021

A follow-up tweet announcing the launch of Round 1 of the Duck Hunters game stated that all participants who complete a few social engagements will receive 1 EGG immediately after the round expires.
Momentum for the token had been building for several weeks prior to the release of Duck Hunters, starting with the listing of a USDT-WAVES market on the Bittrex on March 23.
This was followed by the March 24 announcement that Waves Enterprise would be expand to Singapore as part of its strategy to focusing more on the creation of hybrid networks that can interface with public blockchains like Ethereum (ETH).
VORTECS™ data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro also began to detect a bullish outlook for WAVES on April 8, prior to the recent price rise.
The VORTECS™ Score, exclusive to Cointelegraph, is an algorithmic comparison of historic and current market conditions derived from a combination of data points including market sentiment, trading volume, recent price movements and Twitter activity.

As seen in the chart above, after staying relatively flat in the yellow range for most of the week, the VORTECS™ Score for Waves climbed into the green and registered a high of 66 on April 8, roughly five hours before the price began to increase 60% over the next day.
The addition of NFT functionality to the Waves ecosystem alongside its growing decentralized finance ecosystem has created a well-rounded protocol that is positioned to see further growth as blockchain technology becomes further integrated into mainstream commerce.
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.