The world of online gaming is entering a new era driven by emerging digital currencies and blockchain technology. Where once virtual economies existed only within the confines of individual games and platforms, like Mycasino, cryptocurrencies and NFTs are fueling increasingly connected virtual worlds while empowering players and creators in new ways.
The Growth of Cryptogaming
The crypto gaming sector has exploded over the last two years. In 2020, $321 million was spent on NFT-based games and items. But in just the first half of 2021, that spending skyrocketed to $2.3 billion. The meteoric 2,100% rise highlights the accelerating adoption of digital assets and blockchain-based gaming concepts.
Driving factors behind this growth include:
- Mainstream crypto adoption: With major companies like Tesla, PayPal, and Visa embracing crypto, more gamers are comfortable using virtual currencies. There are now over 300 million crypto users worldwide.
- Play-to-earn gaming: New games like Axie Infinity let players earn crypto through gameplay and asset ownership. Users have already earned over $2 billion playing Axie.
- Investment potential: Scarce digital assets like NFTs can gain tremendous value. NFT sales topped $25 billion in 2021 as speculators entered the market.
As these trends continue, the crypto gaming market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 21% to reach $55 billion by 2025.
Table 1: Crypto Gaming Market Growth
| Year | Market Size | Growth |
| 2021 | $5.2 billion | – |
| 2025 | $55 billion | 21% CAGR |
Democratizing Game Economies
One major impact of cryptogams is the shift towards player-owned economies versus developer-owned ones.
In many traditional games, developers control in-game items and currencies. They own the economy and can change mechanisms or create inflation at will. Players spend money but don’t truly own anything.
Crypto Gaming gives players real ownership through NFTs and tokens. Items become scarce digital assets on a blockchain, with transparent stats and origins. Players can earn currencies with real value, trade open marketplaces, and even influence governance decisions for games.
This democratization unlocks new play-to-earn and create-to-earn models as users are incentivized to provide value. Players in open metaverse environments like The Sandbox can now build NFT assets and game worlds for profit.
Interoperability Between Virtual Worlds
Another benefit of crypto in gaming is enabling interconnected ecosystems between games, worlds, and even traditional media.
Because they run on blockchains, virtual currencies and assets can seamlessly carry over between products and franchises. Players can use resources earned in one game to improve characters in another. Or show off collectibles across multiple virtual worlds.
This interoperability will likely lead to collaborative branding opportunities. For example, when Warner. Bros released Space Jam NFT collectibles in 2021, they worked across multiple products like NBA Top Shot, CryptoSlam, and more. Themed assets flowed freely between partners, exposing the brand to new audiences.
As crypto gaming matures, expect to see more metaverse-like environments with unified economies, tokens, and NFT standards.
The Future of Money in Gaming
While still early, crypto gaming is poised to fundamentally shift how money operates in virtual worlds. Player ownership, open economies, interoperability, and blockchain transparency will further decentralize power and value distribution in the industry.
Expect payment rails and financial tools native to games themselves to accelerate innovation even faster. Services like payment platform Forte and non-custodial wallets make blockchain integration seamless for developers. And major studios are aggressively expanding into crypto, with Ubisoft and Square Enix both recently announcing NFT initiatives.
As the lines continue blurring between games, digital worlds, and finance, the growth opportunities look astronomical. Based on current trajectories, crypto gaming will almost certainly evolve into the dominant model of monetization in the future of interactive entertainment.