- Hamster Kombat, a tap-to-earn game on Telegram, has lost 259 million users since August, dropping its active player count by 86% to 41 million as of November 5, amid rising competition from a new game, Paws.
- The game’s token, HMSTR, has suffered a 75% price drop from its September peak, now trading at US$0.0025, although the number of wallets holding HMSTR has increased to a 30-day high of 3.5 million.
- Political and regulatory issues add to Hamster Kombat’s challenges, with Iranian officials criticising the game and potential bans in countries like Uzbekistan.
Well, the headline basically tells you everything you need to know, but things get funnier than that.
And yes — Hamster Kombat (HMSTR), a popular Telegram tap-to-earn (TP2) game, has lost over 259 million players since August.
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The game’s active monthly players dropped 86%, from a peak user count to just 41 million as of November 5. This significant decrease comes alongside the rise of a new competitor, Paws, a Telegram Mini App that has quickly gained traction
The market’s response to Hamster Kombat’s challenges is evident in the performance of its native token, HMSTR. Since reaching an all-time high of US$0.010 (AU$0.015) on September 26, the token has dropped by 75% and is now valued at US$0.0025, according to CoinMarketCap.
Despite the token’s price decline, wallet addresses holding HMSTR have recently risen, reaching a 30-day high of 3.5 million holders as of November 5, according to data from IntoTheBlock.
As if that weren’t enough, there are compounding challenges from political and regulatory hurdles, such as Iranian government officials criticising the game and unconfirmed reports suggesting that Hamster Kombat may be banned in Uzbekistan and several other countries.
Is the T2P Trend Over?
Several T2P have seen a decline in popularity — not just Hamster Kombat. Data from DefiLlama shows that the total value locked (TVL) top crypto projects on The Open Network (TON), such as Notcoin (NOT), has halved to US$300M (AU$455M) from its height of over US$750M (AU$1.1B).
Recently, Tomarket, a Telegram game set to list its TOMA token, recently announced airdrop distributions for its players. However, many users reported being unexpectedly banned from the platform for alleged cheating, preventing them from accessing their airdrop rewards. Many affected players claimed the bans were unwarranted, sparking frustration and demands for further review.
After addressing user complaints, the Tomarket development team revisited the bans, releasing a statement on Tuesday confirming they had reversed numerous restrictions. This move restored access for many players who had initially been blocked, allowing them to participate in the airdrop.
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In an update via Telegram, the team urged users to check their airdrop status, noting, “A significant number of accounts have already been verified and unlocked.”
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