Telegram Gaming Tokens HMSTR and CATI Plummet Over 50% Following Hyped Launches

Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) and Catizen (CATI), two of the largest crypto games on Telegram by number of players, have seen their respective tokens plunge by more than 50% in price just days after highly-anticipated listings on The Open Network (TON).

At an estimated 300 million players on its Telegram mini-app, Hamster Kombat has watched the price of its HMSTR token sink by 53% to $0.047 from a first-day high of around $0.10, according to CoinMarketCap.

It was a mixed response to last Thursday's launch, with many of the 129 million eligible players showing dissatisfaction with getting what they called "dust," significantly smaller allocations than expected.

The performance is even worse for Catizen's CATI token, which has shed a spectacular 58% since it went live on September 20, currently trading at $0.47 from highs of $1.11. The tokens have also shed an additional 18% today in the midst of wider market uncertainty over a rise in tensions between Israel and Iran.

This isn't a trend relegated to Telegram gaming. The crypto gaming sector as a whole has suffered very heavy losses in 2024, with Notcoin shedding nearly 74% since its peak in June. As such, the sharp drops subsequent to highly publicized launches remain a common storyline in crypto gaming.