MOBOX

MOBOX calls itself "GameFi" -- a mix of "gaming" and "decentralized finance (DeFi)". "DeFi" is an umbrella term for various services that cut the middleman out of financial transactions.

It is a free play-to-earn game. MOBOX users use KEYs to unlock chests and get random MoMo NFTs that can be bought and sold. Some MoMos have rare features, making them more valuable. This means there's a lot of chance involved, as you have very little control over what type of MoMo you might unlock. 

The best known play-to-earn-game right now is Axie Infinity (AXS), which continues to be one of the top cryptos in terms of revenue. But one challenge for Axie is that there's a significant cost involved in getting started. In contrast, MOBOX says it is free to play, though you still need to stake MBOX tokens or other cryptocurrencies to earn KEY tokens that unlock the NFTs. You could buy one, but then it wouldn't be free.

The staking is the DeFi bit of GameFi. It works in the same way as you might stake cryptocurrencies on other platforms by tying them up to earn interest. However, at the time of this writing, MOBOX users could only stake MBOX and Binance coin (BNB). There are also educational games like a tug of war called Bear vs. Bull, where users guess whether the price of Bitcoin (BTC) will go up or down in the next two minutes.

It is early days for MOBOX, which has set itself some ambitious goals. But right now, it is hard to see how it will compete with other play-to-earn games that are more fun and strategic. It's also puzzling that a site that says it's trying to educate people about cryptocurrencies has raffles, random chests, and lotteries rather than teaching trading strategies.

MOBOX began developing the project at the end of last year and launched in April 2021. The MBOX token started trading in April and saw a big price jump when Binance featured it on its Launchpool. Binance's Launchpool is a way to give liquidity to new projects, while investors can earn interest by tying up their assets for a set period of time. Binance also provides advice and support to the cryptocurrencies featured in the Launchpool.

Some crypto investors like to get in early with new projects, as there's a better chance of earning extraordinary returns. However, there's also an increased chance of the coin failing -- which is why other investors prefer to watch how the project performs over time. There are over 11,000 types of cryptocurrency on the market. But over 2,000 coins have failed, and many more casualties are expected.

Cryptocurrencies with longer track records are more likely to succeed in the long term, and here at The Ascent, we encourage taking a long-term approach to your investments. By picking projects you think will perform well in the next five to 10 years, you won't be as affected by day-to-day price fluctuations.