Gaming is an industry that has embraced crypto and blockchain in a different way to others. As well as NFTs and the ability for these to change the way gaming rewards work, there have also been a lot of developers creating games that make use of crypto to either allow players to buy the game and assets in Bitcoin, for instance or actually to replace in-game economy with a cryptocurrency.
Some traditional games have even taken crypto and embraced it fully, with games like table games that are hundreds of years old even finding a fit for crypto.
Poker and Cryptocurrency
When people were first playing poker hundreds of years ago, the idea of a cryptocurrency would have sounded totally alien. Of course, poker has had its big boom since the world has become globally connected, and the internet has seen numerous poker booms where players turn to play poker online. The early 2000s saw online poker games gain a lot of popularity as the games were suddenly much more accessible for people, and internet connections got more reliable (nobody wants to be cut off in the middle of a game).
Nowadays we live in a world of superfast WiFi and internet connections are rarely a problem for people. One thing that has made online poker even more convenient is cryptocurrency, and the option to move money quickly. Loads of online poker sites have switched to offering players the chance to deposit in crypto, and there have even been specific crypto gambling sites hitting the market.
Speed and efficiency of transactions are among the plus points, but people also value the other benefits of crypto, such as the fact it is decentralized and doesn’t rely on a bank to move money around. Anonymity is another potential plus point as people don’t have to share all their details in order to put money into a poker account.
Online poker has quickly become much more popular than playing in person, and crypto is potentially fuelling another boom in player numbers. There are even companies working to further increase the speed of the transactions for players and other crypto businesses.
Other Casino Games Using Crypto
Crypto casinos don’t just offer poker, there are loads of other ways that people can play. Slot games have become more popular on these platforms, too, and there are new ways that the crypto and even the NFT world can change the mechanics of slot games.
In some crypto slots, there are rewards such as NFTs that can be a way for developers and crypto companies to differentiate their offerings from others.
NFTs aside, crypto slots can be a little different from some of the traditional currency slots and may have different mechanics, with specific crypto games like Crash proving to be really popular in the industry.
Any game that can be played with traditional flat currencies can also be played with crypto now with new sites offering the option for players to move money around. From blackjack and roulette through to slots and even bingo, crypto is part of the industry now. Estimates say that most Bitcoin transactions involve gambling in some form.
Games With an Economy Built on Cryptocurrencies
Axie Infinity will instantly pop into your mind if you are an experienced player of these kinds of games. It uses blockchain, including both NFTs and cryptocurrency options. Axie Infinity is a game that gives some Pokemon vibes to players and has an Axolotl theme (hence the Axie part of the name).
SLPs or “Smooth Love Potions” can be earned by players in the game, and these can in turn be used to either improve their characters or Axies, or they can be exchanged within the game’s economy, ultimately being swapped for cryptocurrencies such as Ether (ETH).
Axie Infinity Shards is the token used within the game for transactions and is a primary payment currency for the game when people are sharing, buying, and selling.
A lot of people are drawn to games that can actually have an impact in the real world, and cryptocurrencies give this different option for people, and if they are successful in the games they may even be able to earn tokens and coins.
Axie Infinity is huge, and according to some, it reached a point of having 2.7 million daily players which is not an easy thing for any game to achieve, and it is free for people to download and start playing and exploring their “Axies”.
Summary
Casino games have led the way in transitioning gaming to cryptocurrencies, but the two are closely linked. Esports also embraces crypto and some of the tournament prizes are given in crypto, on top of this, games like Axie Infinity (and there are loads more) have given games a way to build crypto and blockchain into the actual mechanics of the game.
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