GameFi, also known as Play-to-Earn games essentially combine Gaming and Finance using Blockchain technology. Similarly, SocialFi, also known as Move-to-Earn apps combine social activities and Finance. Web 3.0 players are no strangers to these concepts as they have existed since the popularity of cryptocurrencies. However, 2022 was a big year for Game-Fi and Soci-fi with more and more traditional industries pouring investments into these emerging activities. In this article, I will discuss how the two business models contribute to the growth of blockchain and NFTs, with a focus on StepN, a Web 3.0 lifestyle app.
The attractiveness of Social-Fi comes from the “earning” perspective. By playing games and being active on the app, users are able to receive income either from in-app token rewards, staking, or minting NFTs from the platform marketplaces. When users receive tokens, they will be able to trade these tokens or derivatives on supported crypto exchanges. The games are normally simple and easy to play, with a twist of NFT integration. For example, in StepN, users first need the NFT sneakers to start earning STEPN, the native token of the platform. After getting a pair of the sneakers, users will be able to earn STEPN by exercising, such as walking, HITT, etc. You now may ask: How do you buy the NFT sneakers? The answer is it all happens on Solana’s NFT marketplace. Solana Blockchain also powers the Social-Fi app StepN so it ensures all users can figure out all activities in one ecosystem.
According to Cointelegraph, by September 2022, over half of the blockchain industry are being used for Gaming (Fortis, 2022). The crypto industry has definitely shifted from simple token and derivatives exchanges to a more beginner-friendly society. However, hackers are targeting these platform with the increasing amount of less crypto-educated users joining the projects. Axie Infinity is one of the biggest GameFi project, but AXIE holders have become easy phishing tagets on telegram because they are relatively new to the industry. Additionally, it has suffer multiple security breaches where users lose millions worth of tokens (NBCUniversal News Group, 2022). Therefore, more educations are definitely necessary for GameFi to penetrated in a broader audience. Meanwhile, projects need to enhance security operations to prevent such events from happening.
References:
Fortis, S. (2022, September 2). Gaming makes up over half of blockchain industry usage, DappRadar. Cointelegraph. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://cointelegraph.com/news/gaming-makes-up-over-half-of-blockchain-industry-usage-dappradar
NBCUniversal News Group. (2022, April 10). Axie Infinity Hack leaves players shaken – but still loyal. NBCNews.com. Retrieved September 14, 2022, from https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/axie-infinity-hack-leaves-players-shaken-still-loyal-rcna23379
