Vulcan Forged (PYR) rallies after virtual land sales and the Elysium testnet launch

Nonfungible tokens (NFTs), gaming protocols and the dawn of the Metaverse were all trending topics in 2021 and they are shaping up to be even bigger in 2022. 

NFTs and Metaverse-related projects are also bouncing back quickly from the market-wide downturn and Vulcan Forged (PYR) is one of the top movers this week. The project is a blockchain game studio and NFT marketplace that is in the process of developing out its VulcanVerse ecosystem.

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView shows that after hitting a low of $6.59 on Jan. 24, the price of PYR has rallied 119% to an intraday high at $14.43 on Feb. 1 amid a 141% spike in its 24-hour trading volume.

Three reasons for the recovery seen in the price of PYR include the launch of the Elysium testnet, the listing of 100 plots of land for sale within the VulcanVerse and the launch of a PYR bridge between Ethereum and Polygon.

Elysium testnet launches

High fees on the Ethereum network have been a thorn in the side of protocols hosted on the network and this has led to many projects migrating to other networks or launching their own solutions to help lower the cost for users.

Vulcan Forged opted to travel the latter by launching the Elysium blockchain, which Vulcan Forged is referring to as “the blockchain for Metaverses.”

It’s 20:05 GMT, 28th January, 2022, The Year of the Vulcanite.

And Elysium Testnet just went live.$PYR pic.twitter.com/qqevQeC0TB

— Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) January 28, 2022

According to announcements made about the project, Elysium will become the world’s first carbon-neutral blockchain via a collaboration with the Netherlands-based decentralized carbon credit exchange Coorest.

This will be accomplished by offsetting the CO2 emitted by the Elysium blockchain with tokenized trees and the gas fees from transactions will be used to plant trees on nearly 70,000 acres of land owned by Coorest.

In addtion to this environmentally-friendly approach, the network is also attracting the attention of other protocols, with Vulcan Forged indicating that three other Metaverse projects have already signalled their intent to launch on Elysium.

Land sales go live

A second reason for the bullish move in PYR over the past week has been the limited listing of 100 plots of land in the VulcanVerse.

12-24 hours left on the @VulcanVerse 100 plot sale.

Auction expiry dates cleverly designed for time zones.https://t.co/CjiW5HPVjY$PYR pic.twitter.com/tDRhQT5HjG

— Vulcan Forged (@VulcanForged) February 1, 2022

All plots of land are available for purchase using PYR, which has prompted some traders to accumulate the token to make a purchase, leading to an increase in demand and token price.

On top of offering holders a yield of 35 PYR per month for the next four years, land plots in the VulcanVerse can also be used to to earn through gameplay or rent.

Related: NFTs are ‘Stayin’ Alive’ as new minting trends, AI and music-based projects thrive

PYR support on Polygon

A third reason for the bullish turnaround in the price of PYR has been the success of VulcanDex, the protocols decentralized exchange which currently operates on the Polygon and Ethereum networks.

According to VulcanDeX, the protocol surpassed a total value locked of $10 million on Jan. 29 and this figure continues to rise as PYR price rallies.

VulcanDEX is also in the process of integrating a cross-chain bridge between Ethereum and Polygon into the ‘My Forge’ section of the DEX that will enable the simple transfer of PYR tokens between the two networks.

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