Blockchain-based gaming is being adopted at an increasingly rapid rate, new data suggests, even as the popularity for other applications such as non-gaming tokens and decentralized finance (DeFi) show signs of wear.
According to the most recent Blockchain Game Report from the Blockchain Game Alliance (BGA), over 804,000 unique active users connected to blockchain-based games in July. The trend indicates that while the novel industry is in the throes of speculative activity that’s driving up volatility, the gaming segment is quickly growing its user network.
Notably, the blockchain-powered game "Axie Infinity" dominates the sector, the BGA's data revealed. With over $1 billion in trading volume — $600 million of which came in July — the game became the most valuable collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Launched in 2018 by Vietnamese developer, Sky Mavis, Axie Infinity is a play-to-earn game inspired by the popular video game franchise, Pokemon.
And based on Google Trends, internet search for Axie Infinity doubled even that of Activision's (ACTI) hugely popular first-person shooter game franchise, “Call of Duty.”
Along with Axie’s whopping 453% increase in trading volume since June, the report suggested that sales volume often leads to growth in social media followers via Twitter and Discord.
In Axie Infinity, players can battle, breed and raise various monsters called “Axies.” Each one comes with its own unique NFT that can be raised, battled and traded.
Built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, the video game allows players to earn money through game play. Axie Infinity has become increasingly popular in developing countries such as the Philippines, where players can simultaneously bolster their cryptocurrency earnings by playing the game.
According to Token Terminal, the game’s governance token, AXS, helped Axie Infinity generate more revenue in July than any other cryptocurrency including — Ethereum (ETH) and Bitcoin (BTC). Since the beginning of August, the price of AXS has nearly doubled, from $38 to $74.Coinbase, the major cryptocurrency exchange, listed AXS on August 11.
The report also shows that Binance Smart Chain (BSC), a digital architecture built by the eponymous crypto exchange to be an Ethereum competitor, became the most used blockchain protocol for gaming in July, with 658,000 unique users.
BSC’s growth last month was driven most by its own native play-to-earn games — such as the battle game, CryptoBlades. Most recently, the game attracted more than 350,000 daily users.
David Hollerith is a Blockchain and cryptocurrency reporter for Yahoo Finance.
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