Selling Gaming Loot Is Becoming a Million-Dollar Side Hustle

In today's economy, people are always looking for side hustles. They can be a quick, easy way to supplement your main income and, if it takes off, replace it.

It seems a new one is becoming increasingly lucrative: selling in-game items.

Selling in-game items isn’t a new concept, but it is becoming increasingly popular with the continued mainstream adoption of blockchain-based technology and ownership of digital collectibles. Even before blockchain, trading in-game items was popular in some corners of the internet.

Stay updated with top startup investments, sign up for Benzinga’s Startup Investing & Equity Crowdfunding Newsletter

For example, Team Fortress 2 had a lucrative multimillion-dollar in-game hat trading market for a while. Other games, like Counter-Strike Global Offensive, still have large trading markets for in-game items. But these were pretty limited Steam-based games.

Blockchain technology has been a bit of a mixed bag, especially recently. Lack of regulation has effectively caused a free-for-all in the space, but the transferability of digital assets is something people seem to be open to, blockchain or not.

Gameflip is a leading marketplace for buying and selling digital assets across dozens of games, blockchain or not. Gameflip recently launched an equity crowdfunding campaign, so anyone can invest in this gaming marketplace startup for a limited time. As part of the campaign, Gameflip announced its top seller has sold $1.6 million in gaming items on the site.

Gameflip’s highest-ever sale was for $10,000 for one item.

While certain blockchain-based items previously sold for millions, many of those prices were likely the result of speculation. While it’s unlikely to reach that level of absurdity again for a while, there are still tens of millions of dollars in volume in the space traded every day. Places like the Steams marketplace do as much as $1 million per day, and Gameflip does over $100,000 in volume on some days.

See more on startup investing from Benzinga.

• This Unexpected Economic Safe Haven Might Be Your Best Bet To Weather The Current Storm
• Gaming Skins Just Became A $50 Billion Industry