Cryptocurrencies, in many respects, seem to have come out of nowhere to take the mainstream by storm. Pre-2016, the majority of people had probably not heard of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or indeed had any idea what they were about. After gaining worldwide attention in the mainstream media, cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity, with many recognising the benefits they bring. One industry in particular could be revolutionised by cryptocurrencies and that is online gaming.
In many ways you could say that cryptocurrencies and online gaming could and probably should go hand in hand as they compliment each other superbly. Online gaming is on the rise and more specifically eSports. What this has done is create a market for in-game purchases, which are made by in-game currencies. In many ways in-game currencies and purchases have become integral to the success of titles such as FIFA and World of Warcraft.
WAX, a digital asset exchange, have recently carried out a study to cast more light on the relationship between gamers and digital currencies. After surveying 1,000 games in the US, they found that a whopping 75 percent hoped to be able to exchange any virtual goods or items they may have for some sort of digital currency, which could then go on to be traded on other platforms.
The study also found that 55 percent of online games have already used cryptocurrencies in some way, shape or form. What this shows is that a considerable proportion of the online gaming world will already be keen to explore what cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin can bring to their gaming experience, which should see the two communities become a match made in heaven.
There’s no denying that cryptocurrencies would bring a number of advantages to the table when it comes to online gaming and this has been recognised by those surveyed by WAX too. 75 percent recognised how easy cryptos are to use, 66 percent felt the increased security that comes with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin was beneficial, while 49 percent were in favour of the lower transaction fees.
With these benefits in mind, you can certainly see cryptocurrencies taking over the online gaming world, especially as a huge 64 percent of people surveyed by WAX felt that the whole in-game currencies system needs to be improved somehow, while 69% wanted to have the ability to convert the in-game currencies that they own into tradable currencies or tokens, rather than being stuck with them.
As things stand, the online gaming world is plagued by security risks such as people hacking accounts for in-game currencies and items, high transaction fees and transactions being processed slowly and inefficiently. This is especially the case when looking at online betting sites, where established operators like Betpoint will have to consider this new technology; sooner rather than later. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, amongst others, have the ability to improve the overall service, which is to the benefit of both the gamer and the game developer. Video gamers are the type of people to embrace new technology after all and they’ll welcome anything that can help them to enjoy a much better gaming experience all round.