How to earn crypto playing games
14th September 2021 |
“You, know, everything is just waves.”
That’s a quote from Alvy Ray Smith.
You probably don’t know who Alvy Ray Smith is.
That’s ok. Until recently I didn’t know who he was either. I certainly didn’t understand or know his importance to the world we live in today.
However I do suggest you take a moment to go and read this article in Wired about him.
Smith is a computer scientist. He was also the co-founder of the computer division at Lucasfilm and co-founder of Pixar.
He also was an early pioneer of computer programs that enabled colour graphic editing. In fact according to a former colleague at Pixar,
“Everything that you currently use in Photoshop right now basically came from Alvy.” Even self-driving cars and augmented reality, “which are all about image processing, machine vision … Alvy and his colleagues brought all that stuff into the world.”
The reason I found this all so interesting is because of the rise of blockchain based gaming. Recently we’ve seen a huge amount of excitement and hype build around online games that allow you to earn crypto as a reward for playing and participating in a game ecosystem.
What makes it really interesting is the crypto you earn in many cases can then be freely traded for other crypto, or even cashed out back to fiat-currency (British Pounds, US dollars, euros, etc).
None of these games exist without the early development of technology that allows anyone with a great idea and the skills to bring a game to life.
Why the technology – and the crypto – matters
The global gaming industry is a behemoth.
According to a 2020 forecast, it’s expected that, by 2026, the global gaming industry will balloon to a value of over $314 billion. But in reality, this is just a fragment of a wider societal shift.
That figure accounts for things like console gaming, PC gaming and smartphone gaming.
What it definitely doesn’t factor in is the rise of blockchain based gaming. Furthermore, it doesn’t really consider the eSports industry either. I mention eSports, because there’s actually an interesting similarity between eSports and blockchain gaming.
For a start, the world of eSports is a fascinating look at how the idea of “sports” can change over time.
I don’t know about you – but, as a kid, if I spent too much time on the Nintendo my Dad was on us to get outside and play more, “in the fresh air.”
Today, perhaps he’d have first seen if we have some talent on those games, and maybe then we’d look to take part in an eSports league. Maybe if we were the best of the best, we’d make a career from eSports.
After all in 2021, the top 100 eSports earners globally each made over $110,000 in prizemoney. The highest earner won over $685,000.
Further, the best eSports players over time are all millionaires from prizemoney. Johan Sundstein is recorded to have made more than $6.9 million in career prizemoney from eSports.
That’s not a bad way to earn a crust if you can.
But the reality is not everyone will be as successful as Johan has been in eSports. However, anyone can still play games and earn money while doing it, if they know how.
And that’s where blockchain based games come into the frame.
Three games in the crypto gaming world
One of the biggest blockchain based games to hit the market has been Axie Infinity (AXS).
It’s a game where you collect and battle animated creatures across an in-game universe. It’s a bit like Pokémon where each creature has special powers or abilities which determine its strength in a battle.
You’ll find a lot of games are based around concepts like this.
Anyway, do go check it out, it’s kind of interesting. But the point is in the game you can trade characters (which are effectively NFTs) but you can also stake and earn AXS tokens within the game for playing.
Now that might seem a little by-the-by, until you realise that a single AXS token can be exchanged on crypto exchanges currently for around $66. Less than a year ago an AXS token was worth around 15 cents.
At its peak, AXS was worth almost $100.
Again, that is not a bad way to earn a crust if you know how.
Axis infinity has exploded because of the dramatic rise in AXS value (and subsequently the “market cap” of the Axie Infinity game). But also because it’s got a growing number of players.
Other games that can be played where you can earn include games like Illuvium.
Illuvium is a relative newcomer to the market. It hasn’t even been released fully yet. But it, too, has aspects of play-to-earn, such as participating in competitions, tournaments and quests in the game.
It also has characters, accessories, enhancements, skins and game-features that are NFTs. The NFTs can be earned and traded, engaging players to play, participate, create an economy within the game itself. Crucially, the game is connected to the wider world of crypto.
There’s a long list of different games, across different blockchains. These are worth looking further into, not just if you’re a gamer, but also as ways to earn as well.
Tezotopia is another, that’s new, not fully released yet but has the capacity to earn. It’s based on the Tezos blockchain which shows how diverse this space is getting.
Tezotopia’s primary currency is Unobtanium (UNO): it, too, is a crypto that exists on the Tezos blockchain, but you can earn UNO by simply holding land inside the Tezotopia game. Currently one UNO is worth around $38.
The key takeaway here is that blockchain gaming is a fast-growing sector of the wider crypto market. There are opportunities for the games to grow and scale from simply being good entertainment.
For you, there is the potential to obtain the crypto which underpins these games. In other words, by participating and earning rewards, you can boost your crypto portfolio.
You’re not going to hear about crypto gaming in the mainstream financial press. People there are still hung up on trying to figure out if bitcoin is a scam or not.
Don’t ignore crypto gaming. It’s just getting started, and has a big future ahead.
Crypto to Know
Below is our “Crypto to Know” list where you’ll find several cryptos that we think you should be taking the time to learn and understand.
They each form an important part of the burgeoning crypto ecosystem.
Several of these cryptos are doing very different things to others.
What’s key is to learn that every crypto has its own use cases, its own guiding principles, and its own particular potential.
Each crypto is to be judged and assessed on its own merits.
Our aim here is to help you understand these cryptos and the wider crypto world.
These aren’t specific recommendations but a guide to help you learn and build your confidence in operating in this space.
We will add more names to this list over time. However, if you’re new to the world of crypto, these are the names where we think you should start your education and learning.
We’ve also added links to each one.
The links are to what we believe, in each case, is the best resource for learning about that crypto.
“Crypto to Know” watchlist
- Bitcoin – bitcoin.it/wiki/Main_Page
- Ethereum – ethereum.org/en/what-is-ethereum
- IOTA – docs.iota.org
- Tezos – https://tezos.com/learn/getting-started/
- Uniswap & 1inch – uniswap.org/faq & help.1inch.exchange/en
- Filecoin – docs.filecoin.io
- Cosmos – v1.cosmos.network/intro
- Binance – binance.com/en/about & research.binance.com/en/projects/bnb
- FTX – ftx.com & help.ftx.com/hc/en-us
Sam Volkering
Editor, Sam Volkering’s Crypto Network
