Crypto.com and Arcade announced a strategic partnership. Crypto.com will act as the lead backer for Arcade. Play-to-earn crypto games or GameFi for short are becoming very popular.
In traditional play-to-earn games, individuals win rewards in the form of the platform's native cryptocurrency or NFTs that may be exchanged with other players. Although it is not related to Arcade, Axie Infinity is among the most popular play-to-earn games in the crypto world.
Josh Poole, the CEO of Arcade, said, "Having support from Crypto.com Capital as the lead backer is a big deal for the future of GameFi. As one of the world’s leading exchanges and drivers for crypto adoption, they educate newcomers into the crypto industry every day.”
Bobby Bao, the MD of Crypto.com, said, “Arcade is bringing an entirely new perspective to play-to-earn gaming by allowing anyone to access games without even needing to play or own assets directly. The company is proud to back this innovative project by leading Arcade’s funding round.”
The Struggle of Crypto Games in Asia
Upon playing the game, players can exchange the NFTs or cryptocurrencies that were awarded to them in a marketplace. The NFT can be sold in a marketplace.
Once the NFT is sold, the cryptocurrency may be converted to fiat currencies and withdrawn. If the native cryptocurrency is unavailable at exchanges it can be converted to stablecoins such as USDT and then withdrawn.
Several platforms such as PolkaCity allows individuals to earn a passive income simply by holding an NFT. For example, buying an airport in PolkaCity will generate 1,923 coins of the platform's native cryptocurrency per week.
In another play-to-earn game, Age of Rust, 20 bitcoins are hidden in the game.
The struggle with GameFi in Asia is strict regulations. In South Korea, it is forbidden to convert gaming tokens into real money as well as in China, which is stricter. Some Asian countries view games where money is earned as gambling.