When did digital game currencies originate and what are the most prominent types?

Contents

• 1 What are digital game currencies?
• 2 When and how did gaming coins originate?
• 3 What are the most popular types of game currency?
• 4 references

Did you know that the points and cash that can be earned from some digital and video games can actually be worthwhile and traded like any other digital currency? In the following article, we will learn about game currencies, which are another type of digital currency.

What are digital game currencies?

Game currencies (Gaming Coins or GameFi Tokens) are a type of digital currency, which is acquired and used in decentralized games based on the blockchain, and is traded and subject to price changes as in the case of other digital currencies, and game currencies are used to buy and sell various game items, within Compounds in which one usually contains several games, and the method of playing games with the aim of acquiring game coins and thus the material value they enjoy is called “play-to-earn”. ^[1]

When and how did gaming currencies originate?

In general, the concept of game currencies is not new, since the beginnings of video games and the player can acquire currencies or points within the game to use them later to purchase various items, such as characters, weapons, clothes… etc. But nowadays, the intent to talk about game currencies is to refer to blockchain game currencies, also known as decentralized games.

The first known blockchain game was CryptoKitties, developed by Dapper Labs, which basically involves purchasing pet cats marked as Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), and the player raises and breeds them, thus upgrading them from Then they are sold, and the player gets 80% of the proceeds from selling cats in this game, while the company gets a 20% “breeding fee.” ^[2] This game has drawn attention since December 2017 when one of the cats was sold for more than $100,000. ^[3]

However, the renaissance of decentralized games, and with it game currencies, occurred remarkably with the outbreak of Covid 19 disease, and the accompanying growth of the massive gaming sector, as the “InvestGame” report for the first half of 2021 indicates that private investments in the gaming sector amounted to $4.6 billion, compared to $4.6 billion. 1.4 billion dollars in the same period of 2020, and the same report indicates a remarkable rise in games based on the blockchain, and the monitoring of 24 deals for blockchain game companies – compared to 12 in the fiscal year 2021 – with a value of $ 476 million. ^[4]

Today, gaming currencies are the real investment behind blockchain games, as most of the blockchain games are not very fun, but rather for players to earn coins and associated non-fungible tokens, and for game makers to grow and expand the investments placed in them.

What are the most prominent types of game currency?

Like any other digital currencies, there are several types of decentralized gaming currencies, including the following:

• Descentraland (MANA): It is the currency used in Metaverse Descentraland, and it gained its strength from the great popularity of this metaverse, where plots of land are sold at fantastic prices that amounted to more than $2.4 million (618,000 Descentraland) in November 2021. ^[5]
• SAND: A metaverse sandbox coin based on the Ethereum blockchain, which allows the creation, development, and trading of various game elements and experiences as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). ^[6]
• AXI Infinity (AXS): The currency of the game of the same name, which is based on the Ethereum blockchain and the Ronin side-blockchain network. This game is based on breeding, developing and breeding monsters named “AXS”. Various game elements are available, especially characters and lands , as non-fungible tokens (NFTs), ^[7] and in November 2021, a plot of land in the game was sold for an amount equal to $2.5 million. ^[8]
• Gala: The currency of the Gala Games system, which allows hosting and development of blockchain games, and using the currency to trade elements of various games on it as non-fungible tokens, in addition to reaping rewards in Gala currency for playing various games. This system is distinguished In cooperation with external game developers, including well-known companies and brands in the world of video games. ^[9]

References

1. ↑ “Gaming Tokens. What are they and how can you get ’em!”, zipmex.com, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
2. ↑ “BLOCKCHAIN GAMES TWIST THE FUNDAMENTALS OF ONLINE GAMING”, inverse.com, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
3. ↑ “Meet CryptoKitties, the $100,000 digital beanie babies epitomizing the cryptocurrency mania”, cnbc.com, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
4. ↑ “Gaming Deals Activity Report H1’2021”, investgame, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
5. ↑ “Virtual real estate plot sells for record $2.4 million”, reuters.com, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
6. ↑ “What is “The Sandbox” (SAND)”, sandbox.game, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
7. ↑ “What Is Axie Infinity? The Play-to-Earn NFT Game Taking Crypto by Storm”, decrypt.co, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
8. ↑ “Axie Infinity Plot Sells for $2.5M”, finance.yahoo.com, Retrieved 22/6/2022. Edited.
9. ↑ “John Osvald interview: How Gala Games fuels blockchain game hits with fewer players”, venturebeat.com, Retrieved 22-7-2022. Edited.