Some people call it blockchain gaming, others are calling it play-to-earn gaming, and to some, it’s crypto gaming. Whatever you call it, it’s the new kid on the gaming block, and it has people listening. In the last ten years, cryptocurrency has evolved into a form of digital currency that’s captured people worldwide.

Some companies let shoppers use it as a form of payment. El Salvador – a country in Central America – has plans to create a Bitcoin city at the base of a volcano, and most of the world allows people to trade it using exchange markets. So, where has cryptocurrency – or blockchain – gaming come from, and is it here to stay? Read on to find out.

What Are Blockchain and Cryptocurrency?

The two are one of the same. Both can’t function without the other, but what is it, and why do they both matter? Cryptocurrency is one of the biggest trends at the minute. It’s an industry now worth $2 trillion – and everyone wants a piece of the pie. If you’re confused about what both of them are, we’ll break it down for you.

Cryptocurrency

A cryptocurrency is a form of digital currency created by an anonymous software developer after the financial crash of 2008. The unknown person or organization created crypto under the name Satoshi Nakamoto – and the idea behind it was to create a currency that a future financial crisis wouldn’t affect.

The two primary ways people make money through cryptocurrency are trading or staking. With staking, people would use the best staking crypto to hold in a wallet to help with transaction authorization on a proof-of-stake blockchain. For every transaction authorized, people would earn additional crypto. People have to have a specific amount of crypto to validate transactions – but it is a way of making a passive income that people consider easy.

Trading cryptocurrency is like trading any other currency – you trade one against the other to make money. That is commonly referred to as day trading in other niches – the other option is to buy into specific cryptocurrencies and sit on them until they increase in value.

Blockchains

Blockchains aren’t limited to cryptocurrency. Healthcare, governments, manufacturing businesses, and many more use blockchains. In layman’s terms, a blockchain is a system that records information in a way that would be virtually impossible to change or hack. A blockchain will hold groups of information in blocks with their own storage capacity and capabilities.

Cryptocurrency uses what’s called decentralized blockchains. With standard blockchains, the ownership links to one person or organization. With decentralisation, the clue is in the name. Decentralized means the data isn’t connected to one source, but rather it spans out across a network.

That leads to a trustless network. Every means that every member in the network will have an exact copy of data of the distributed ledger – if one member alters or corrupts the data in any way, the rest of the network will reject it.

In cryptocurrency, it also means that transactions wouldn’t be authorized in the way standard transactions are but instead use third-party sources to validate payments.

What Does That Mean Blockchain Gaming Is?

Onto blockchain gaming, the one that everyone’s talking about recently. The idea of blockchain gaming is nothing new – software developers have toyed with the idea and development of blockchain gaming for the last few years. It’s only now, however, that – thanks to the rise of cryptocurrency – developers are releasing games using the technology.

What this means for games – is that everyone owns a piece of the pie. A decentralized blockchain allows people to claim ownership of art, finance, and beyond. With gaming, it would mean that people own a piece of the game, and not everything in the game would be confined to the specific game. Any gamer knows that when you purchase a new game, anything bought in that game stays on that game.

Take Overwatch, for example. You pay to buy skins and upgrades, but that wouldn’t transfer to the new game. With blockchain gaming, the idea is that purchases can be moved to other games or even traded against each other and sold to other games to make a profit. It gives digital-assets real-world value. That also transpires into NFTs – non-fungible tokens – such as rare skins or one-of-a-kind weapons.

Then you have crypto-gaming and gaming coins. Players can use the game’s crypto to purchase skins, weapons, or expansion packs. Games that follow a play-to-earn model also allow players to earn crypto as they move through the game completing missions.

The Games You Have To Try If You’re Intrigued

Does crypto-gaming have your attention? Well, it should do. Even though it has failed to make the impact developers want it to, the industry raised its value to over $460 million in 2021. Below are some of the games you have to try if you’re interested:

  • The Sandbox – that’s a game where players created 3D worlds and games. Companies have been buying spaces on the Sandbox for millions.
  • Axie Infinity – that’s an NFT based game where players trade and collect battle creatures.
  • Yield Guild Games – a platform where players can sell or rent out NFTs in the biggest blockchain games.

There are plenty of games to check out on Google if you want to explore more.

Cryptocurrency is expanding into nearly every industry – many might not have suspected gaming would be one of them. But it’s here, and it’s here to stay. Experts predict blockchain gaming will become a hit in the next few years, especially as the market value and interest increase.

About the Author

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Mirko Humbert

Mirko Humbert is the editor-in-chief and main author of Designer Daily and Typography Daily. He is also a graphic designer and the founder of WP Expert.