In the corona period, people were of course forced to find their entertainment largely indoors. It was therefore to be expected that the game industry experienced considerable growth. Relatively new, however, is the phenomenon of bitcoin gaming and other blockchain-based gaming. This branch of online gaming in particular has grown considerably in recent years, and involves considerable amounts of money. What does this actually mean?
Crypto is on the rise
No doubt you are familiar with the Bitcoin phenomenon. But other cryptocurrencies are also increasingly making their way. For example, the price of ethereum is expected to rise considerably after the expected upgrade. So-called meme coins such as dogecoin are also quite popular with private crypto investors, despite or precisely because of the large fluctuations in price. This is also an interesting development for the gaming industry.
Bitcoin and other crypto gaming
Previously, if you managed to accumulate points or certain possessions in a certain (online) game, these have no value outside the world of the game. It is true that assets in specific games have been traded for years for sometimes considerable amounts. In recent years, however, games have also been developed in which the rewards are paid out in a specific crypto currency, which in turn represents a certain value on the broader crypto market. This means that in-game rewards can also be traded for other cryptocurrencies or mainstream currencies, such as the dollar or the euro.
Earn crypto in games in two ways
Cryptogames connect the world of the blockchain and the game industry. Players can earn rewards in various ways, by playing or trading. Indeed, this can mean that winnings and experience in the game directly results in crypto returns. But it is also possible that an NFT marketplace is linked to the game. An NFT, non-fungible token, is a certificate of ownership of a digital object or image. This certificate of ownership is registered in a blockchain, which allows you to prove that you are the owner. In the case of gaming, this can mean that you can validate your ownership of certain things in a game. These NFTs are also tradable again.
Popularity of crypto gaming
The popularity of crypto gaming is increasing. For example, Axie Infinity, one of the most famous crypto games, has already earned more than a billion dollars. But precisely because rewards in crypto coins make gamers less dependent on one specific game, the popularity of certain games can also fluctuate greatly. This then also has significant consequences for the price of the crypto currency associated with this game or project. Along this way, fluctuations in popularity can also have significant consequences for the crypto market in general.
Gaming with crypto, in addition to the group of regular gamers, also attracts new people. This type of player is motivated primarily by the very rewards that can be earned in the game, not so much by the experience of the game itself. Research shows that these players are mainly active in Asian countries. But with the arrival of several attractive games with a crypto component, it is expected that more people in Europe will also make the switch to crypto gaming.
This article was produced in collaboration with litebit.eu
