The crypto and NFT gaming space is busier than ever lately, what with prominent games starting to release, token airdrops piling up, and a seemingly constant array of other things happening at all times. It’s a lot to take in!
Luckily, Decrypt’s GG is all over it. And if you need a quick way to get caught up on the latest moves around crypto video games, we’re debuting This Week in Crypto Games.
Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tidbits you might have missed. We also showcase a few of our original stories from the week.
Biggest news
Notcoin token dated: Viral Telegram-based game Notcoin will launch its NOT token on The Open Network (TON) on or around April 20—also the current estimated date of the Bitcoin halving, so it’s going to be an extra-busy day for the crypto world.
And what will happen with Notcoin after the token drops? Yes, the coin-tapping game is indeed coming back, but there will be some big changes to mining coins and how the game’s ecosystem will work. We’ve got those details here at Decrypt’s GG, straight from the team.
‘Notcoin’ Telegram Game Will Return After Token Launch—With Big Changes
Telegram-based crypto game Notcoin says it racked up nearly 9 trillion taps over the course of its mining phase, but with gameplay currently paused ahead of the incoming token launch on The Open Network—set for April 20—the tapping has stopped for now. Notcoin plans to relaunch its game after the token launch and airdrop but with a new rewards model. That’s because Notcoin will not mint any additional tokens, as all pre-launch mining is complete. The in-game coins will be swapped for NOT crypto...
Saga breaks Binance record: Speaking of gaming tokens—the SAGA token of layer-1 blockchain network Saga will launch on Tuesday, April 9, and Binance is currently holding a Launchpool campaign to offer up 45 million tokens (half the initial supply) to users who stake either BNB or FDUSD tokens.
And there’s been ample demand: As of this writing, over $13.3 billion worth of the tokens is being collectively staked by more than 450,000 total Binance users, setting a new record for a Binance Launchpool campaign.
Binance Users Stake Record $13 Billion to Earn Saga Gaming Token Rewards
There’s clear interest in the upcoming token for the Saga layer-1 blockchain network, just days ahead of next week’s listing. In fact, Binance customers have already broken a record for the most cryptocurrency staked to earn SAGA token rewards via the crypto exchange’s Launchpool campaign platform. Binance users have staked more than $13.1 billion worth of Binance Coin (BNB) and the FDUSD stablecoin to earn a share of the 45 million SAGA tokens being offered up through the platform, or half of t...
Bitcoin gaming handheld: The BitBoy One (no relation to the crypto influencer) is a Bitcoin-centric handheld gaming device that looks like a classic Game Boy, albeit with a vivid translucent orange shell. But this upcoming device, estimated to cost $500 when it launches later this year, runs play-to-earn games, emulates classic games, works as a Bitcoin hardware wallet, and can apparently mine crypto airdrops from decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePINs).
This Little Device Can Hold Your Bitcoin, Play Games—And Farm Airdrops as You Sleep
Plans for a Game Boy cartridge that turns that classic gaming handheld into a functional Bitcoin cold wallet were sadly abandoned last year, but here’s a new project that bundles Bitcoin gaming, play-to-earn rewards, and a hardware wallet all into one portable device. The BitBoy One—no apparent relation to crypto influencer BitBoy—was officially revealed this week by Ordz Games, a Bitcoin-centric gaming project. The gaming handheld replicates the basic silhouette of Nintendo’s iconic handheld bu...
Coachella scavenger hunt: The Coachella music festival is launching an on-site game that lets attendees collect Avalanche NFT-based stamps via an app with an integrated OpenSea Wallet. It ultimately lets them earn prizes, rewards, and special access in the process. This follows a recent release of Coachella NFTs on Avalanche via OpenSea.
Coachella Launching Avalanche NFT Quests Game at Music Festival
Concertgoers at this year’s Coachella Music Festival will be able to earn perks and upgrades by playing a blockchain-based game called Coachella Quests developed by the festival's Coachella Innovations division in partnership with Ava Labs, the company behind the Avalanche blockchain. Coachella attendees who complete quests at the event and on the Coachella Discord server will earn “stamps” and points that can be traded for exclusive festival benefits and experiences, including access to the Oas...
ICYMI
- Solana-based hero shooter Nyan Heroes is wrapping up its pre-alpha demo on Tuesday. On Friday, the game’s team announced that more than 100,000 people have played so far, and that it’s offering NFT rewards and additional MEOW points (which go towards the NYAN token airdrop) to the top players on the leaderboard.
- Social Network, a Bitcoin layer-2 staking network, announced a location-based game that rewards users with NFTs for going out and “touching grass.”
- The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report last week about crypto gaming and in-game “banking” across Web2 games, saying that such financial elements can lead to “exploited workers.”
- Ethereum user-generated content game Hytopia, previously known as NFT Worlds, is set to launch a closed beta test this month after raising $8 million by selling nodes that support its Hychain network.
Ethereum Game 'Hytopia' Nears Beta Launch After $8 Million Node Sale
Hytopia, a Minecraft-like sandbox game previously known as NFT Worlds, is set to roll out a closed beta test this month after raising millions of dollars through a node sale for its Ethereum layer-2 network, Hychain. The Hychain sale raised 2,098 ETH in March, or more than $8 million worth at the time, as users purchased nodes that help secure the Arbitrum-based gaming network and also allow them to earn TOPIA tokens in the process. In total, 250 million TOPIA—about $17.5 million worth at presen...
- Pixel Vault is bringing its crypto game Battle Plan and the Reboot gaming protocol to Xai, a layer-3 Ethereum gaming network built with Arbitrum tech.
- Today, a social simulation game built with generative AI and NFTs, raised a $5 million seed round announced last week led by Sfermion and Big Brain Holdings.
- Square Enix’s Symbiogenesis game on Ethereum revealed more details about its collaboration with Avalanche-based shooter Shrapnel. Content from Shrapnel will be featured in a “treasure hunt” where players can earn NFTs, beginning on Tuesday.
- Trala Lab, subsidiary of mobile game publisher Joycity, will build on Ethereum scaling network zkSync.
GG spotlight
Here are a few of our original stories from this past week that we think are well worth a weekend read:
‘Crypto: The Game’ Goes Bigger for Season 2—Can It Sustain the Hype?
The first season of Crypto: The Game was a viral, “Survivor”-inspired phenomenon that had players around the world competing in online and IRL challenges for a chance to win a prize pool of $115,000 worth of Ethereum (ETH). And everything is apparently bigger the second time around. Tickets to play in season 2 of Crypto: The Game are available today for a season with more players, big industry sponsors, and new on-chain game mechanics—and it’s all happening on Ethereum scaling network Base. But...
'Bitcoin Miner' Game Guide: 7 Tips to Earn More BTC on iOS and Android
Bitcoin Miner is one of the most compelling mobile games we’ve played that pays out actual Bitcoin along the way. Unlike BTC-infused riffs on solitaire, sudoku, and other classic games, it does so in a colorful, recursive game about mining fake cryptocurrency. It’s a slam dunk for crypto enthusiasts, even though—as with all of these games—the actual amount of Bitcoin you’ll earn for casual play comes out to pennies per hour. But as we’ve logged hours into the game, we’ve discovered strategies an...
Game On: The Hottest Upcoming Gaming Token Airdrops on Ethereum, TON, Base and Beyond
Airdrop season is in full swing, with apps, protocols, and other projects seizing upon bear market vibes and regulatory shifts to finally drop their tokens—and potentially reward millions of crypto users in the process. What exactly is an airdrop, though? When it comes to crypto tokens, an airdrop is typically a way for a project to reward its early users and contributors by giving them a share of a newly launched token, all while spreading the tokens far and wide for decentralized governance. W...
