AVAX, the native token of Layer-1 blockchain Avalanche, has experienced a notable increase of 13% over the last 24 hours, positioning it as the top gainer among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization.

Currently, the token is trading at approximately $32.2, up 11.5% in the same period, with its daily trading volume tripling to around $829 million, according to the latest data from crypto.news.

AVAX price chart | Source: TradingView

With the market cap now standing at $12.7 billion, AVAX ranks as the 11th largest cryptocurrency. However, despite the recent gains, it remains 78% below its peak of $146.2, reached on November 21, 2021.

Avalanche was introduced in the autumn of 2020 by a team led by software engineer Emin Gun Sirer, along with Kevin Sekniqi and Maofan “Ted” Yin. The Layer-1 blockchain, which supports smart contracts, quickly positioned itself as a direct competitor to Ethereum.

The recent surge in AVAX’s price follows an announcement on July 19 that ChronosWorlds, a post-apocalyptic RPG game, has selected Avalanche as its preferred blockchain for deployment.

The partnership underscores the growing interest in utilizing robust and stable blockchain platforms like Avalanche for gaming applications. In related news, Fableborne’s first play-to-airdrop event, held on the same day, was hailed as a success, attracting over 77,000 concurrent participants.

Additionally, recent trading activities by large-scale investors (whales) have also influenced AVAX’s price dynamics. These investors have reportedly begun to short the cryptocurrency, particularly after it reached a recent low near $26.

This price movement in AVAX coincides with a broader upward trend in the cryptocurrency market, including a 7% increase in Bitcoin over the past week and a slight overall market uptick of 0.5%, bringing the total market valuation to $2.44 trillion.