Best Play to Earn Crypto Games

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Contributor, Benzinga
March 1, 2022

Looking to start playing a play-to-earn game? Upland lets users monetize land within its metaverse!

The creation of blockchain-based play-to-earn crypto games is a paradigm shift in the gaming industry. This shift transfers a massive amount of revenue from gaming corporations to the players. It also creates a whole new economy that transcends from the gaming universe into the real world. 

How Does Blockchain Gaming Work?

So now, let’s look at how blockchain games work and how they differ from traditional centralized games. Blockchain games, as the name implies, run on a blockchain and are fully decentralized.

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Before starting to play a blockchain game, you will need to buy some non-fungible tokens (NFTs). These NFTs represent in-game content such as tools, weapons, or characters. The type of NFT and amount required to play will vary from game to game.

NFTs are digital assets stored on a blockchain. “Non-fungible” means that each one is unique and therefore irreplaceable. NFTs can represent ownership in a variety of real-world items or in-game items.

The NFTs that you purchase are not stored in-game but outside in your cryptocurrency wallet. The player has actual ownership of them versus basically renting them in a traditional game.

The items you buy in a traditional game exist only while the player is playing and are only usable in that specific game. Also, if a conventional game dies off from a lack of popularity, you lose everything you’ve purchased.

We see this when it comes to in-game currencies as well. Traditional game currencies are only usable in that specific game and have no real-world value. Blockchain game currencies reside in your crypto wallet and are often openly traded on a variety of exchanges. It is a significant distinction that opens the door to players earning crypto by playing online games.

How to Play Blockchain Games and Earn Crypto

Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. We’ll get a little more detailed here and explain just what steps you need to take to start blockchain gaming. 

  1. Use a cryptocurrency exchange to buy Ethereum.

    For anyone new to cryptocurrencies, the first thing you will want to do is open an account at an exchange. The account is needed to purchase Ethereum (ETH), that you will need to purchase NFTs.

    Three good choices are Coinbase, Gemini, and Voyager. Of these, Coinbase and Voyager have the largest selection, each with over 50 cryptocurrencies.

    Coinbase and Gemini offer both desktop and mobile apps, whereas Voyager is mobile-only. 

    When it comes to opening an account, all three exchanges make it very easy. You will want to compare the transaction fees, which do vary from one exchange to the other.

  2. Transfer your ETH to a cryptocurrency wallet.

    You should now have an account at one of the crypto exchanges containing a certain amount of Ethereum. The next step will be to choose an Ethereum wallet that will connect to your game. 

    A top choice, MetaMask is a browser extension that works with Chrome, Firefox, and Brave browsers. Because MetaMask is a browser extension that is both Ethereum wallet and Web3.0 provider, it can easily interact with decentralized applications (dApps) right from your browser. 

    To install MetaMask, just choose your browser or mobile operating system, click on install MetaMask and follow the instructions. The last step will be to transfer ETH from the exchange to your MetaMask wallet. 

    If you have never transferred cryptocurrency before, I would recommend doing a test transfer first. When I say test transfer, I refer to moving a small amount of crypto first to test the process. You will want to pay attention to the gas fees, though, especially when transferring anything on the Ethereum blockchain.

    Also, be sure to triple-check your deposit address. If you copy and paste the address, try checking the first four and the last four characters. The last thing you want to do is make a mistake on your deposit address. If you do, you will never receive the deposit.

  3. Buy a necessary NFTs to begin playing.

    Before buying anything, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the game. This way, you will know how to play and understand what NFTs you’ll need to start playing. Most of the games have a marketplace, making the process of buying very easy. Depending on the NFT, there may also be a secondary market.

    You will also find that there will most likely be a considerable difference in pricing. For example, if you check the Axie Infinity marketplace, you will find prices starting at around $150 up to tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars. 

    Buying is pretty straightforward — just connect your wallet to the marketplace and scan through the available NFTs until you find one you like. The NFTs will be offered for sale on the market as either auction-style or as a buy-it-now.

Upland Play-to-Earn Metaverse

While land in Decentraland and The Sandbox is extremely limited, Upland has mapped out real-world addresses into a play-to-earn metaverse game. Since there's so much real estate in Upland, you can own a plot of land for as little as a few dollars. Prime locations sell for large premiums, and there are plenty of options to choose from within Upland. Upland's native token, UPX, is used as an in-game currency which can be used to buy and sell land. Get started today and receive a 6,000 UPX token bonus to jump start your metaverse land ownership.

Best Play to Earn Games on Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain

Now let’s look at a few of the best play-to-earn games—one on the Ethereum blockchain and the other on the Binance Smart Chain (BSC). First, let’s compare the two blockchains.

The Ethereum blockchain is the larger of the two when it comes to DApps. Unfortunately, due to congestion, gas fees are much more expensive on the Ethereum blockchain. When we look at confirmation times, the Binance Smart Chain is much faster than the Ethereum blockchain.

  1. Axie Infinity 

There are a few ways in which you can earn crypto playing this game. The first is battling either monsters or other players. You can also earn crypto by completing daily quests. If you own your Axies, you can breed them. You can also lend out your Axies to bring in some passive income. To get started, all you will need is to buy 3 Axies from the Axie marketplace. Buying 3 Axies will probably cost a minimum of $500 to $600. 

  1. CryptoBlades 

When playing CryptoBlades, you can earn Skill tokens by defeating enemies, conducting raids, and staking your Skill tokens. 

CryptoBlades runs on the Binance Smart Chain, so you will need to purchase some Binance Coin (BNB) to make purchases. You will also need to open an account on an exchange that sells the BNB token. Binance.US (U.S. residents) and Binance global are two very reputable exchanges.

Running on the Binance Smart Chain does have advantages over running on the Ethereum blockchain, such as cheaper fees and swift confirmation times.

Axie Infinity is a top choice that offers the possibility of earning more crypto by playing and breeding your Axies. Even though Axie Infinity runs on the Ethereum blockchain, which suffers from very high gas fees, Axie Infinity has gotten around this issue using the Ronin wallet.

Where are Play-to-Earn Games Headed?

The creation of play-to-earn games could lead to a significant shift in the gaming industry. As the industry evolves, most games in the future could offer a play-to-earn element to them. As more players experience actual digital ownership of their gaming assets and the ability to profit from gaming, the popularity of play-to-earn games will soar.

People spend an ever-increasing amount of time online, a trend that will continue as younger generations grow up in an increasingly digital world. Also, as the “metaverse” and virtual reality continue to enter the mainstream, they will accelerate this trend.

Current Cryptocurrency Prices 

Many cryptocurrency investors remained bullish on the asset class moving into 2022, with layer 1 smart contract blockchains and metaverse cryptocurrencies being at the forefront of attention. Sadly, the depegging of Terra brought down most of the crypto market, forcing many of these tokens to effectively start over and attempt to grow once more.

How Much Can You Make from Blockchain Games?

The amount you can make from playing these games will be affected by quite a few factors. 

Here are a few:

  • The price of the token
  • How long do you play each day
  • How good of a player you are
  • Your initial investment

As far as real numbers go, an article that contained an interview of a 31-year-old in the Philippines made about $2,000 per month playing Axie Infinity. Although the price of Smooth Love Potion (SLP) tokens is dropping, indications are good for potential profit.

Regardless of the amount, you can make something while playing, and owning NFTs is a vast improvement in a player’s favor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q

Can you make money from crypto games?

A

Yes, you can make money from crypto games, but you should invest wisely and watch the price of these tokens to ensure that you have a real chance to make money.

Q

Are crypto games secure?

A

Crypto games are secure, but you must make sure you use a secure wallet to store any crypto earnings you get from those games.

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Donald Hancock

About Donald Hancock

Donald’s expertise lies in the technical analysis of both stocks and crypto.