Gaming tokens hit in Trump tariffs fallout after Deadrop shutdown

Price data shows most gaming tokens have had a rough week

article-image

Source: Blockworks

share

This is a preview of upcoming newsletter The Drop. To read full editions after launch, subscribe.


Bitcoin and the rest of the crypto market took a turn for the worse over the weekend in price drops that have largely been blamed on Trump’s promised tariffs. I overheard a handful of X Spaces hosts sound the alarms about it on Monday, acting as though the bull market was over. 

But now that it’s Tuesday, things are already recovering. Tariffs on Mexico and Canada have been delayed, allowing bitcoin and some other cryptos to partially recover.

As often happens, gaming tokens were harder hit.

Immutable’s IMX token fell 14% from Sunday to Monday. Since then, it’s recouped a bit of that loss, but still remains down roughly 26% in the past week. 

Some other market notables:

  • SAND, GALA, Ronin, AXS, MANA, BEAM, APE and PRIME all saw similar losses in the same period, with prices dropping anywhere from 21% to 30%. 
  • Notcoin, the Telegram tap-to-earn game’s token, is down about 35% in the past week.
  • PIXEL fell roughly 32%. 

Still, it’s not all bad news across the gaming token sector.  

Sui is only down less than 2% in the past week. Sweat Economy continues to churn ahead, seeing its price rising about 8% in the past week. GoMining is also up modestly, as is Xterio and other smaller market-cap tokens. 

That’s just a handful of winners though — price data shows that most other gaming tokens have had a rough week.

XP Alert 

Abstract, the blockchain from the Pudgy Penguins team, doesn’t have a native token (yet). But it is issuing XP — gamerspeak for experience points — and distributing it for the first time today. How did you do?

Deadrop is dead — we all know why

You’ve probably heard by now that Midnight Society, the studio behind the “vertical extraction shooter” Deadrop, has shut down. 

It had promise — think Call of Duty for crypto fans with a heavy Bladerunner vibe. And, I guess, cars you could drive into battle. Kind of cool?

Deadrop’s premature death isn’t surprising, though. 

Last year, one of its other co-founders and primary marketer — Guy “Dr. Disrespect” Beahm — admitted in a (since-deleted) X post that he had inappropriate conversations with a minor. That incident was revealed as the reason for Beahm’s permanent ban from Twitch, which had previously been kept under wraps for years.

Shortly after that news broke late last year, the studio laid off some staff in September. Then, last week, the studio posted a brief note announcing that it’s shutting down. The studio didn’t say exactly why, and instead asked the broader gaming community to help its 55+ developers find new gigs. 

One of its other co-founders, Robert Bowling, purged his social media accounts before the shutdown.

One former Midnight Society employee told me: “It is what it is. We just couldn’t get the Dr. D stink off us.” 


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

Research Report Templates (1).png

Research

Aave’s revenues have doubled from April lows and are fast approaching all-time highs. With 35% of borrow interest coming from ETH and 55% from stablecoins, Aave is emerging as a powerful proxy as an ETH and stablecoin beta. As looping strategies accelerate growth and Horizon positions the protocol to ride the RWA wave, Aave is shaping up as one of DeFi’s most compelling multi-narrative plays.

article-image

Private testnet aims to deliver low-cost settlement with partners including Visa, Deutsche Bank, and OpenAI

by Blockworks /
article-image

Solana saw $78 million in REV for August

article-image

Lit Protocol’s Vincent is shifting agentic finance from toy demos to production rails

article-image

The new system aims to unify Europe’s fragmented tokenized asset settlement and cut cross-border costs

by Blockworks /
article-image

Tron slashed fees by 60% as Plasma looms, threatening its USDT moat

article-image

The acquisition adds evaluation-based funding to Kraken Pro, giving traders access to capital on performance

by Blockworks /