How the Gaming Community Adopted Crypto
What Video Games Have to Do with Bitcoin
The Community
Of the various digital communities, the gaming community is probably more intertwined with the crypto community than most others. Evidence of this can be seen in various places.
Livestreaming
One example is the popular live-streaming platform Twitch. This site is dominated by the gaming community — people who play video games, livestream video games, and enjoy watching video games — making their voice very present here.
So how does this tie into crypto?
Well, the people who livestream on Twitch can actually make a profit from providing this “free” content to their viewers. They can do this by setting up a subscription through third-party applications like Patreon or, they can use “tipping” services Twitch provides. Tipping is a quick and easy way to send real money to content creators you enjoy; anywhere from a few cents to thousands of dollars.
This is nothing new, but cryptocurrency quickly found its way into the system. As more and more gamers became interested in cryptocurrency, Twitch made it possible for viewers to tip streamers in one of four cryptocurrency options (Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum and Litecoin).
The process is quick and painless, allowing people to spend their first piece of Bitcoin, or other cryptocurrency, without thinking much about it.
Twitch’s competitor, streaming service dLive, doesn’t just allow crypto donations, but is actually built on blockchain technology. All users can get crypto rewards from the platform for their participation, whether they livestream or just watch.
Not Quite Crypto
Another reason gamers are so close to the crypto community is the ease at which they can adapt to digital concepts such as cryptocurrency. This is no surprise, considering most gamers are well adjusted to making in-game purchases and trading digital items with one another.
In fact, these gamers are so used to digital purchasing that it’s making the game creators lose some potential profit. Many video games offer unique in-game “skins” or other items that can cost players either money or time to acquire in game, and can range in rarity.
Gamers were quick to make a market out of this, setting up websites and forums in which they could sell and resell these unique skins and items for real-life cash.
Game Credits
In response to these “grey markets” created by gamers through selling in-game items to one another, cryptocurrency developers saw an opportunity. So, they created digital currencies surrounding the concept of gaming.
One of the more interesting of these is “Game Credits,” a blockchain-based digital currency that wants to be the universal blockchain-based digital currency for video games. Game Credits would essentially function as a bridge between various in-game currencies.
Its goal is to make it possible to transfer credits from any game to another through this digital currency alone. This is an ambitious goal that would be revolutionary for both the gaming and crypto communities.
Virtual Gaming Currencies
Did you know that besides bitcoin you can buy (or sell) 30 altcoins at any Coin Cloud machine? Some of those are designed for gaming specifically, including UnikoinGold, FunFair, Enjin Coin and Decentraland MANA tokens.
Find out more in our free Ultimate Guide to Digital Currency.
Disclaimer: The information and views supplied by Coin Cloud are for educational and entertainment purposes only. We are not financial advisors, so please do your research and consult with a trusted financial specialist before investing your money.
What is Coin Cloud?
Founded in 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada, Coin Cloud is the world’s leading digital currency machine (DCM) company. With over 1,600 locations nationwide, in 47 states and Brazil, Coin Cloud operates the world’s largest and fastest-growing network of 100% two-way DCMs, a more advanced version of the Bitcoin ATM. Every Coin Cloud DCM empowers you to quickly and easily buy and sell 30+ virtual currency options with cash. You can find your nearest Coin Cloud DCM here.
