Many investors are picking up Shiba Inu (SHIB 3.01%) coins nowadays. The dog-themed cryptocurrency has gained 85% in less than three weeks and more than 300,000% over the last year. Shiba Inu is an interesting experiment in decentralized project management, but it's also just another token on the Ethereum (ETH -0.60%) network with more marketing pizzazz than real-world utility.
That's fine if you're just playing around with some coffee change, but Shiba Inu doesn't strike me as a serious investment for the long haul. Instead, if you're interested in an up-and-coming cryptocurrency that is carving out a unique niche of its own in the sprawling crypto market, you should consider Gala (GALA 1.71%) today.
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What is Gala?
We are looking at a blockchain system designed to power an ecosystem of games. The first playable Gala game is a town simulator named Town Star that may remind you of SimCity, the classic Electronic Arts title. However, Town Star players own the digital world they play in through the Gala blockchain. The game includes a set of collectible non-fungible tokens (NFTs) that represent unique player avatars.
Upcoming Gala games combine blockchain-based game systems with collectible NFTs, but the game platforms vary. One title will be a player-versus-player tower defense game. Another is more of a third-person brawler game where players design and control their own tanks. One Gala game under development is a multiplayer adventure game based on the AMC Networks zombie franchise, The Walking Dead. Again, players can own assets such as land and weapons in that game via Gala-based NFTs.
From a technical point of view, Gala works as an Ethereum (ETH -0.60%) token running on the cross-compatible systems of Ethereum itself and the Binance Smart Chain network. On top of that dual platform, Gala runs a unique system of nodes combining the process management functions of three different blockchain networks. Some may call this design overly complicated; others see it as sophisticated and secure. It's a flexible set of interconnected blockchain systems that appears to deliver fast transactions without skimping on security checks.
What makes Gala unique?
The people behind the Gala Games project bring a heap of experience from the video game industry. Founder Eric Schiermeyer was the co-founder of mobile gaming expert Zynga (ZNGA), the company behind hits such as FarmVille, Mafia Wars, and Words With Friends. If anybody knows how to design and run a game where players chase digital assets in the game world, it would be the brain behind FarmVille.
This digital coin should gain value as more games make their way through development and beta testing, eventually launching as fully playable games. The Gala token gives game designers access to in-game asset tracking on a whole new level, and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Gala community tying their token into the larger metaverse idea later on.
Long-term success is never guaranteed in this rapidly changing sector and I am not saying that you should bet the actual farm on Gala Games tokens. But it does look like a promising approach to blockchain-based video games. In particular, I like the multiple layers of data security and flexible transaction processing that come from running a triple-chain system on top of two high-quality smart contract platforms. Moreover, Schiermeyer's unmatched industry experience looks like a game-changing advantage.
You may want to start a small position in Gala and be prepared to pick up some more tokens as the gaming ecosystem develops. This gaming coin has some growing up to do, but it's already a more sensible investment than Shiba Inu.
