CATI, HMSTR Token Analysis

Source: Token Insight

Catizen and Hamster Kombat are two of the most promising gaming projects in the TON ecosystem. Catizen is a virtual cat cafe where players can earn CATI tokens by participating in fun games and activities, while Hamster Kombat is a fast-growing Telegram tap-to-earn game where players take on the role of CEO of a virtual crypto exchange.

Both projects have attracted a lot of attention in the crypto community. Both tokens have just been launched, with Catizen's CATI token launched on September 20, 2024, and Hamster Kombat's HMSTR token launched on the TON platform on September 26, 2024.

Catizen (CATI) Token

The CATI token is the native utility and governance token of the Catizen ecosystem, a Telegram-based play-to-earn platform.

Token Utility:

CATI tokens have multiple important functions in the Catizen ecosystem:

• In-Game Currency: CATI is the universal currency in the Catizen ecosystem, and users can use CATI to purchase in-game items, upgrades, and services such as Game Center, Launchpool, and Open Tasks. By using CATI for these transactions, users can access premium content and features.

• Governance: CATI serves as a governance token, allowing holders to vote on important decisions in the ecosystem, including the upcoming Launchpool project. Decentralized governance helps shape the future of the platform.

• Launchpool Participation: Users can stake CATI tokens in Catizen's Launchpool to earn rewards, including exclusive airdrops and rewards.

Staking and Yielding:

Users can stake CATI tokens in Catizen's Launchpool to participate in yield-generating activities. Additionally, users who hold CATI can receive future airdrop rewards through the Open Task platform. Staking offers multiple benefits:

• Payment discounts: Users can enjoy a 30% discount on purchases when using CATI to pay in the Game Center.

• Staking rewards: By staking CATI in the Launchpool or Earn Pool, users can earn tokens from other high-value projects.

• Airdrop rewards: Users who participate in the Open Task platform can earn points that can be redeemed for CATI every three months. The rewards pool releases more than 1% of CATI tokens every quarter and also includes airdrop rewards from other projects such as Bombie and Vanilla.

• Fees discount: Users can also use CATI to pay platform trading fees like the Vanilla TG trading robot and enjoy a 30% discount.

Token Distribution:

CATI’s total supply is fixed at 1 billion tokens, which are distributed as follows:

Airdrops and Ecosystem (34%):

• 15% will be 100% released at TGE (Initial Token Offering) for Season 1 player rewards.

• 19% will not be released at TGE, and the remainder will be used for quarterly season airdrops to reward players in future seasons. 9,900,000 tokens (0.99%) will be airdropped at the beginning of Q2. This number will increase by 10% each quarter until Q7, after which the release will increase linearly. The entire airdrop will be completed within 12 quarters after TGE.

Launchpool (9%): Used for Launchpool, where users can stake tokens to receive additional rewards.

Team (20%): Allocated to the team, no tokens released at TGE, release starts 12 months later, followed by linear release over 48 months.

Treasury (15%): As a strategic reserve, 10% released at TGE, the rest follows a 12-month lockup period and a 48-month linear release schedule.

Investors (10%): These tokens will be linearly released over 48 months after a 12-month lockup period.

Advisors (7%): Same unlocking method as investors, no initial release at TGE, linear release after a 12-month lockup period.

Liquidity (5%): These tokens are fully unlocked at TGE to ensure immediate liquidity.

CATI Price Analysis

Catizen (CATI) tokens have experienced significant price fluctuations since their launch on September 20, 2024. Initially, the token price rose rapidly, reaching an all-time high (ATH) of $1.11 on the first day of trading, reflecting strong early demand. However, this upward momentum quickly faded, and the price fell back to an opening price close to $0.75 within a few days. As of the end of September, CATI was trading at around $0.79, 31% below its all-time high.

Currently, the circulating supply of CATI is around 30.5%, and it is expected to gradually increase to 40% by September 2025, which means that about 10% of new CATI tokens will enter the market within a year. This may bring some selling pressure, and the Catizen team is developing new staking features to incentivize users to hold and stake tokens, thereby alleviating selling pressure.

To better understand CATI's positioning in the TON ecosystem, its market capitalization can be compared with other major projects. For example, as of September 28, the market cap of Notcoin, the leading tap-to-earn project, was $1 billion, while CATI’s market cap was $218 million, just one-fifth of Notcoin’s. However, taking into account the fully diluted valuation (FDV), CATI’s FDV is $720 million, much closer to Notcoin’s $1 billion.

Potential and Risk

Catizen is more complex than some other simple tap-to-earn games. Unlike games that earn in-game currency by simply tapping the screen, Catizen requires players to earn rewards by swiping and merging cats of the same level. This extra layer of gameplay makes Catizen more appealing than simple tapping games. As of September 2024, Catizen has over 34 million users, with 800,000 paying users contributing $33 in average revenue per user (ARPU), according to a report by Cointelegraph, and these strong fundamentals support its current valuation as the top gaming project on TON.

Notably, Notcoin, the leading tap-to-earn project in the TON ecosystem, is a fully distributed token and is therefore not subject to the ongoing selling pressure from unlocked tokens. Despite this advantage, Notcoin's price has been trending downward since its peak in June, and has not recovered significantly even during the recent broader market rally. Notcoin has underperformed both ETH and TON despite its smaller market cap, and smaller projects typically see larger recoveries during market rebounds. This underperformance may indicate that investor interest in tap-to-earn tokens has waned compared to the beginning of the year, a potential challenge for similar projects in the space.

Against this backdrop, CATI’s current valuation may face challenges, especially as similar gaming projects are launched on the TON chain. These new tokens may diversify liquidity for CATI as investors may choose to allocate funds between multiple gaming projects in the ecosystem, intensifying competition for market share and attention.

In order to justify a higher valuation, it is critical to keep a close eye on Catizen’s product development. A higher valuation is only possible if Catizen can provide a significantly better gaming experience in the TON ecosystem. In a competitive and evolving ecosystem, strong product performance is key to maintaining investor confidence and grabbing market share, especially as new gaming projects are launched on the TON chain.

Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) Token

HMSTR is the utility token for the Hamster Kombat ecosystem, primarily used for in-game rewards, personalization, and participation in various activities in the Hamster Kombat ecosystem.

Token Utility:

$HMSTR tokens have multiple uses in the Hamster Kombat ecosystem:

• In-Game Currency: HMSTR tokens are the primary currency for a variety of in-game transactions, allowing players to buy, sell, and trade items, characters, and upgrades.

• Access Exclusive Content: Players can use HMSTR tokens to unlock special content not available through regular play, including rare items and unique characters.

• Event Participation: The token allows players to participate in limited-time events and tournaments that offer unique rewards and foster a competitive and fun gaming environment.

• Unlock Premium Features: Players can use HMSTR tokens to access advanced customization options and accelerated upgrade mechanics to gain a competitive edge in the game.

Token Distribution:

The total supply of Hamster Kombat (HMSTR) tokens is 100 billion, a significant portion of which is used for player rewards and ecosystem growth. Here are the details of the token distribution:

Initial Distribution: 64.38% of the total supply (6.4375 billion HMSTR) will be released during the Token Generation Event (TGE).

Player Rewards:

• 60% for Season 1 Player Rewards: Players can only claim 88.75% of their HMSTR token allocation on Day 1, and the remaining 11.25% will be released linearly over 10 months. In other words, about 53.24 billion tokens will be airdropped to users at the token launch, and 6.75 billion tokens will be released within 10 months after listing.

• 15% for Season 2 Player Rewards: These tokens are reserved for the Season 2 airdrop, which has not yet begun.

Other Allocations

By allocating a large portion of tokens to player rewards, Hamster Kombat aims to incentivize user participation and drive continued interest in the platform.  HMSTR tokens have no investors. According to the whitepaper, the project does not involve any investment firms or venture capital (VC). This is explicitly stated in order to reduce selling pressure and ensure that the token remains community-driven.

The project specifically emphasizes that the value of the token will be determined by the community, demand, and ecosystem engagement, rather than relying on external investors seeking liquidity. This approach helps avoid common exit strategies from investors that often create selling pressure and negatively impact token prices.

HMSTR Price Analysis

The HMSTR token traded at around $0.009758 when it launched and quickly rose to a high of around $0.01004, achieving a market cap of $646 million in a short period of time. However, this upward momentum was short-lived and the token fell sharply to $0.007 within a few hours.

At the time of the token launch, HMSTR had a high circulating supply of around 64%. The team's token allocation will be locked until September 2025, and the only tokens unlocked over the next year are those reserved for partners and rewards, with a total unlock of only 1.5%. In addition, the project has reserved 15% of the total supply for the second season airdrop, but the specific plans for the second season have not yet been determined.

As of now, HMSTR has a market cap of around $437 million, which is about half the market cap of Notcoin, the leading tap-to-earn project in the TON ecosystem. In comparison, HMSTR’s fully diluted valuation (FDV) is $680 million, similar to CATI’s $710 million. Both have FDVs lower than Notcoin’s $1 billion.

However, HMSTR’s high circulating supply of over 64% (compared to 30.5% for CATI) means that airdrop participants may quickly sell off tokens after the token is issued, resulting in higher short-term selling pressure. Nonetheless, its price may stabilize faster due to less pressure to unlock future tokens. This may also explain why HMSTR’s current fully diluted valuation (FDV) is slightly lower than CATI’s.

HMSTR faces similar challenges to CATI, as Notcoin, the leading tap-to-earn token, has not shown a significant price recovery since its peak in June. This suggests that the tap-to-earn space may be losing investor attention. In addition, HMSTR and CATI may also face more intense competition as more similar projects are launched in the TON ecosystem.

Conclusion

CATI and HMSTR are new tap-to-earn gaming tokens in the TON ecosystem, and both currently have a fully diluted valuation (FDV) of approximately $700 million, which is lower than the leading tap-to-earn token Notcoin at $1 billion.

CATI has a more aggressive token unlocking schedule, which may lead to greater long-term selling pressure as more tokens enter circulation. In contrast, HMSTR has a higher initial circulating supply, which has led to higher short-term selling pressure, especially from airdrop participants trying to sell tokens. However, this means that HMSTR may face less long-term selling pressure after the initial activity ends.

Both face similar challenges, including the shift in market narratives away from tap-to-earn and increased competition from the increase in new gaming projects on the TON blockchain. These factors may affect investor interest and market liquidity, so CATI and HMSTR must respond by differentiating themselves and maintaining user engagement to remain competitive in this rapidly evolving market.