Many interesting things have been happening in the crypto space lately, both good and bad. On the bright side, the market seems to be on the path to recovery after a long and cold winter, with Bitcoin recently reaching its highest level in 13 months and the Ethereum price hovering under the $2,000 mark. Meme coins seem to experience a resurgence after everyone thought they were gone for good, applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs are making waves in the market and as usual, new coins continue to emerge, making everyone wonder about the next big crypto to explode.
On a less positive note, lawmakers’ crackdown on the crypto industry continues, with several major stockholders in the DeFi and NFT sectors coming under fire. After the collapse of FTX and several other major crypto companies, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems determined to prevent history from repeating itself and is now looking to impose stricter measures in order to protect traders and investors from potential risks. Unfortunately, the lack of regulatory clarity on crypto combined with the SEC’s current actions is causing more havoc than anticipated.
But despite all the torment and turmoil that’s happening in the crypto industry at the moment, there’s one sector that not only has remained unbothered by the regulatory turbulence but is in fact thriving: blockchain gaming.
Blockchain gaming for the win
According to DappRadar, a data analysis company tracking the performance of decentralized applications (dApps), gaming apps continue to dominate the dApp space, accounting for 37% of the entire market, even though the numbers are slightly lower compared to the previous quarter when gaming made up 45% of the market.
But it’s not just the large share that gaming apps hold in the dApp space, but also the increase in daily Unique Active Wallets (dUAW) engaging with dApps on-chain that gives reasons to believe blockchain gaming is on the rise. DappRadar’s report registers a growth of nearly 8% in the number of these addresses, signaling increased interest in digital assets. This goes to show that the commotion produced by authorities’ crackdown on the crypto industry in recent months hasn’t affected the crypto gaming sector in the least.
This also gives traders and investors hope that the crypto winter is finally coming to a close, as people regain trust and confidence in blockchain-based assets. Does this mean that the worst part is behind us? If we correlate DappRadar’s statistics on blockchain gaming with the slow but steady appreciation of the two leading cryptocurrencies in the market, Bitcoin and Ethereum, we might as well think so.
However, one should not forget that digital currencies are volatile by design, which means market movements are highly unpredictable and there are several micro and macro factors that could change the course of events at any given time.
What blockchain games bring to the table
Volatility aside, the fact remains that blockchain games are gaining more ground and popularity by the day. So, it’s only natural to wonder to what do we owe this increased interest in this newly emerged gaming category.
For starters, we need to clarify that the concept of blockchain gaming designates any game that includes a blockchain component in its structure, be it to enhance the gaming experience or change the entire architecture of the game. There are several aspects that differentiate blockchain games from conventional video games and contribute to their increasing appeal.
The most notable difference between the two gaming categories has to do with asset ownership. In a traditional game, everything a player earns and does is considered the property of the game development company. One does not own anything – not the item they use in the game realm, nor the experience acquired while playing. With blockchain games, the complete opposite happens. Players get to own in-game assets and use them as they see fit, which turns items into currency.
It’s important to note that blockchain games can be separated into two main categories: hybrid and decentralized. The first category only uses blockchain as a marketplace to trade in-game assets but the game is built and hosted on a centralized server. The latter, however, comprises games that use blockchain technology as their core structure and provide users with the perks of decentralization. In other words, no single entity owns these games and therefore no one can alter any of their features without the community’s consent. Players can actively contribute to the games’ development and have a say in every decision related to it. This also means that one can smoothly transfer any assets they own across an entire ecosystem of blockchain-based games, making the gaming experience all the more interesting and engaging.
Transparency is another major advantage that blockchain games provide. Since blockchain technology operates as an open-source public ledger, anyone who joins the network can view the transactions and actions recorded on it, thus providing transparency and providing fairness. All participants can easily verify the legitimacy of in-game assets and enjoy peace of mind while playing.
Last but not least, the play-to-earn (P2E) model allows participants to earn rewards while enjoying their favorite game. These rewards come in the form of assets or crypto, which they can later exchange for fiat money if they so wish. One can also make money by selling in-game items such as characters, skins, weapons, tools or experience. Therefore, blockchain games are not just a form of entertainment but they can also become a source of income for players, and this is probably their biggest selling point.
Wrapping up
The convergence of gaming and blockchain seems rather natural given the rapid development of these two innovative sectors in recent years. In the current context, with the whole world watching the crypto regulatory drama unfold, the fact that blockchain gaming is on the rise gives us reasons to believe that widespread crypto adoption might be just around the corner.
