Blockchain technology is really versatile. Bitcoin showcased the use of decentralized ledgers as a payment method, and soon other crypto platforms explored further possibilities. Ethereum introduced smart contracts, which allow developers to build almost anything online. All kinds of industries have leveraged the endless potential of this technology to extend their reach. The gaming industry, comprising mostly young, tech-savvy users, thrives in the crypto ecosystem. Although online gaming is seen as a recreational activity, rather than a job, this has been changing in the last few years. Now, games aren’t just games. E-sports are on the rise and becoming well-positioned in the general markets. Paired with crypto, the gaming industry gets an interesting twist. While digital assets from video games have been traded for a long time, crypto has given users access to tokens that they can easily trade for cash in legitimate exchanges. Blockchain offers gaming the same advantages it gives finance: decentralization, ubiquity, and anonymity. Players can be anywhere and trade their tokens anywhere. There is not a central company saying what they can and can’t do or where they can or can’t operate.

Decentraland

Crypto games are in the spotlight now thanks to Axie Infinity, an MMORPG-like game where players breed and battle little monsters called Axies. But one of the first protocols to open the crypto space for gaming was Decentraland, a virtual universe where users own, build, and interact with one another. Decentraland is a sandbox where participants are given full autonomy over their plots. They can host events and parties, build in-site minigames, and charge other users for admission. Users’ characters are fully customizable, which offers another potential source of income – the Decentraland team recently announced that users can now create and sell wearables (items used to customize characters) and graphic designers saw a big opportunity. An artist called Hiroto Kai created garments for Decentraland and made around $20,000 in a few weeks. Crypto fashion, as shown by Kai, can be as profitable as real-world fashion. Big traditional companies, like Coca-Cola, have also joined the ecosystem and sell digital items within it. Atari, the renowned gaming titan, even built a casino in the “Vegas District”, an area dedicated to gambling sites.

MANA token

All these spaces are marketed and users must pay to join, like in any real-world counterpart. The transactions are conducted using MANA, the ERC-20 token used for in-site purchases. On August 23, the Decentraland team announced the launch of Quests, a tool that enables users to set tasks for participants. This offers a lot more options to make revenue. Shortly after, on August 29, on the occasion of Gamer Day, the price of MANA experienced a quick surge and reached $1.08. The price of the token, after a dramatic fall in June, is recovering.

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Kirobo supports MANA

Crypto gaming has become an alternative form of employment, useful for people who, say, live in developing countries, or simply don’t want to hold an office job. Blockchain games are decentralizing access to capital and offering it to people who would otherwise have a hard time earning money. Kirobo understands this, and has integrated MANA into its ecosystem. Users of Decentraland can swap their earnings for other tokens with the P2P Swap Button. This service allows anyone to trade between any of the supported tokens while setting their own token prices. Transactions via the P2P Swap Button are protected using the Undo Button. With this, all your transactions can be reversed in the event that you make a mistake and send the transaction to the wrong address. To make a transaction you must create a password and communicate it to the recipient, or second party. They must then enter the password and only then will the transaction be executed. This means that if you try to send money to the wrong address, the counterparty won’t be able to release the funds, and the transaction can be reversed. Another interesting kind of token are fan tokens. These are cryptocurrencies created by organizations such as football clubs that afford membership perks like discounts and voting rights. We’ll talk about these in more detail in upcoming articles, so stay tuned!