The metaverse-focused Layer 1 blockchain Zilliqa’s native token ZIL rose in price today after news that a virtual world built on it has partnered with the photo-sharing and awards app Agora.

At 12:39 UTC, ZIL was up 6% for the past 24 hours and a massive 156% for the past 7 days to a price of USD 0.109. The gains positioned the token as one of the better performers among the top 100 cryptoassets by market capitalization today, and the best one by far over the week, per CoinGecko’s ranking.

ZIL price past 14 days:

Today’s move by Zilliqa’s native token may have been triggered by an announcement from Metapolis, a yet-to-be-launched metaverse virtual world built on Zilliqa, which said it has partnered with the photo-sharing and awards app Agora to deliver blockchain-based solutions.

Agora is described as a global talent awards app where individuals can upload creations and participate in contests to win support and visibility.

Metapolis, meanwhile, is described as “the first metaverse-as-a-service (MaaS) platform” that is powered by a Layer 1 blockchain. The platform is said to allow users to build “conceptually-rich and custom-designed domes as part of cities” that can be used to host things like brands, games or e-stores.

Metapolis will be officially launched during an event in Miami, USA, on April 2 this year, the team said in the announcement, adding that it has already collected USD 2m in pre-launch revenues from clients.

“Metapolis has already garnered interest in its hyper-realistic graphics and ability to engage through gamification and e-commerce and [non-fubgible tokens] NFTs. And, now major creator-focused brands and esports brands are joining the equation,” the announcement said.

In addition to working with Agora,