‘Notcoin’ Airdrop Claim Ending as Telegram Crypto Gaming Hype Builds

Crypto-fueled games on messaging app Telegram are taking off in a big way lately, all spurred by the sizable demand and massive token launch seen earlier this year by Notcoin. And now Notcoin is about to close up its token claim for players as the game’s next moves start to take shape.

Notcoin’s airdrop claim for players is set to end on Sunday, June 16, one month after the NOT token launched on The Open Network. NOT immediately became 2024’s biggest gaming token debut at launch, topping a $1 billion market cap as millions of players were able to claim their rewards for playing the game.

However, it’s only grown since, with a price spike at the start of June pushing the token above a $2 billion market cap and into the top 60 cryptocurrencies overall. Even amid a more volatile couple weeks for both NOT and the broader gaming token market, Notcoin is up 57% over the past 14 days per data from CoinGecko.

Notcoin players from the early-year “mining phase” can still claim their tokens from within the Telegram mini app, and choose whether to send them to an exchange, withdraw them to a self-custody wallet, or stake them within Notcoin to earn potential future perks and rewards.

“Part of the unclaimed tokens will fund the future development and the rest will be burned,” developer Open Builders previously stated.

According to the team, if you see an “OK” hand symbol emoji within the Notcoin mini app, then that means you’ve claimed your tokens—whether through a withdrawal or by staking them. Notcoin says that it has nearly 2.5 million on-chain holders along with “millions of people” through exchanges.

Players who staked their tokens in the game will receive a user level bump the following month after they staked, while Notcoin says that new users who want to stake “will be able to get higher levels next week.” Higher-level players will ultimately have access to more token earning opportunities and rewards as the game expands over time.

Notcoin’s core coin-tapping gameplay has yet to return since being shut off on April 1 ahead of the airdrop, however the team has said it plans to bring that back—and introduce other games as it aims to create a Netflix-like platform for social games. The game has, however, offered passive crypto earning opportunities through partnerships with other projects.

After Notcoin amassed some 35 million players and spawned a huge token launch, other Telegram-based games have followed suit with similar plans. The biggest yet is Hamster Kombat, which spins the clicker premise into a crypto exchange CEO simulator with plans for a TON token launch currently targeted for July.

Hamster Kombat claimed Friday that it has now amassed 150 million Telegram players ahead of the crypto integration, while its social media accounts have seen surging growth as well. Now fellow Telegram mini app games Yescoin and TapSwap are similarly planning to launch tokens on The Open Network, as announced Thursday.

All the while, The Open Network and its native Toncoin (TON) appear to be reaping the benefits from the growing attention. TON jumped to a new all-time high price of $8.25 late Friday, as it now sits in the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market cap.