How you can earn cryptocurrency in Play-to-Earn
Earning money in cybersports today is no surprise to anyone. But a completely new trend called Play-to-Earn is developing in the video game industry, which allows ordinary users to earn money directly from participating in the game.Recently there was information that the "superstar" CS: GO and the leader of the Ukrainian eSports team Natus Vincere Alexander s1mple Kostylev bought an electric Porsche Taycan. The cyber athlete, who recently turned 24, posted a photo with the car against a backdrop of the Kiev landscape in his Instagram.According to this photo, s1mple bought the most powerful version of Taycan Turbo S (761 hp and acceleration from 0-100 km/h in 2.8 seconds), which price tag starts from $196 thousand in Ukraine.The question of how he got the money to buy the car is hardly relevant: Kostylev was recently awarded the best player of CS:GO at the World Esports Awards from the International eSports Federation (IESF), and according to Sportsbusiness, NAVI earned $1.22 million in prize money during the first six months of 2021 alone.Obviously, not all eSports players can boast the same result. And in general, participation in major international competitions concerns a very limited range of people.However, today there is a new trend in video games, which provides an opportunity to earn not only professional Esportsmen.What is Play-to-Earn?The classic video game premise is all pay-to-win, meaning that players pay money upfront to the game developer for a subscription or purchase of the game. This means that the goal of such video games is to be competitive with AI or other players to have fun.Yes, modern video games allow gamers to earn by trading various artifacts and participating in cybersport competitions. But the gameplay itself doesn't provide real monetary remuneration and withdrawal from the game.The new Play-to-Earn (P2E) or "play to earn" video games operate differently: these games are based on the blockchain technology that underpins cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.P2E games differ from classic video games by having a model of financial interaction with the player. By receiving digital assets for their success in the game, users can store them in their wallets in anticipation of an increase in the value of that asset. The most popular P2E games have their own tokens that can be traded on popular cryptocurrency exchanges.Non-fungible tokens (NFT or non-fungible token) are also a key component of all P2E games. As NV Gambling already wrote, NFT is a collectible digital asset that was developed based on Ethereum blockchain technology in 2017.A NFT transaction is recorded into a special registry, so users can be assured that the virtual object they possess is the original. Each NFT transaction enters a unique set of symbols that guarantee its value.What are P2E games already out there?There are quite a few examples of P2E games today, even though the P2E concept is still in development. CoinMarketCap has separate P2E game tokens page.You can find a total of 119 such tokens on the site. Among them are those used in role-playing P2E games, sports simulators, strategies, etc.For example, the two largest tokens by market capitalization - Axie Infinity ($8.1 billion) and Decentraland ($1.4 billion) - were the basis for the P2E metaclass game Mars4, in which you can buy virtual plots on Mars.The price of one Axie Infinity (AXS) token increased by 97% to $129 over the last week. Perhaps it is because of this that Axie Infinity is the most popular distributed gaming platform.In this game, users are encouraged to breed, buy, and develop furry Axie creatures. Players can complete tasks with their Axie and have battles between them. The game's goal is to get "small love potions" (small love potions or SLPs) that allow you to create new Axies.SLPs are now trading at $0.08 on cryptocurrency exchanges, while a couple of months ago the value of this token was as high as 34 cents. Axie virtual beings can also be sold as NFTs on a special trading platform.The P2E game CryptoKitties works on a similar principle, in which users are offered to breed virtual cats by crossing different species. "CryptoKitties" with unique characteristics are sold and bought on NFT-marketplaces for real money.Other P2E games include a Formula 1 simulator, fantasy soccer, collectible card games, farm games, sandbox games and more.Is it possible to earn on P2E-games?Players can make money by getting digital assets in these games and exchanging them on cryptocurrency platforms. Developers of these games claim that their users make tens of thousands of dollars per day.But there are a few nuances.First, users must purchase a certain amount of tokens and keep them in their own accounts to enter one of these video games. Second, because P2E games are built around the circulation of digital assets, developers can charge a commission for the sale and exchange of any tokens.Furthermore, P2E token values are not stable, just as any cryptocurrency rate is not stable. When digital assets leave the game and are transferred into more stable coins, the value of P2E tokens could fall. But this news can hardly frighten any crypto-investor.