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 happy to present 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
Token launch frenzy: It was the week for Ethereum gaming token launches. The token generation event for Ethereum gaming platform Nifty Island took place on Wednesday, with ISLAND's market cap landing around $15 million as of this writing.
Kaidro, a franchise with a webcomic, crypto game, and upcoming animated series, also launched its KDR token on Ethereum on Wednesday. Since its launch it has settled at a market cap of just above $10 million. Also on Wednesday, arena battler Moonray launched its MNRY token, again on Ethereum. What a week!
Also, the Tomarket (TOMA) token finally launched on Aptos, with players of the Telegram game finally able to withdraw and trade their airdropped tokens. It apparently hasn't gone well, however, with the price falling 50% since launch and the developers attempting to calm the community.
"We understand the frustration around token prices and airdrops, and we’re taking steps to address these challenges," the Tomarket team wrote in a Telegram post.
Nifty Island embraced a wide array of established communities in Web3 to help expand its Roblox-style metaverse game.
Now it’s rewarding them.
The project, which pioneered the now-popular “play-to-airdrop” campaign, just launched ISLAND, an Ethereum-based utility token that serves as the ecosystem token for its in-game economy.
Below, learn everything you need to know about ISLAND now that it's live.
What is ISLAND?
ISLAND is the native token of the Nifty Island ecosystem, offering holders “i...
Santa brings Bitcoin: Mobile crypto game Bitcoin Miner, which lets you earn real Bitcoin by mining fake coins on iOS and Android, launched a holiday event over the weekend that lets you earn hundreds of bonus satoshis (aka 1/100,000,000 BTC).
Running into the early hours of Monday, Santa's Moonshot puts a Christmas-themed spin on the game's normal weekend event, letting you build a rocket while unlocking bonus BTC and in-game boosts. You'll mine fake coins like Snowlana and Elfereum, racking up more and more real Bitcoin along the way.
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CyberKongz SEC: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Wells notice to NFT gaming project CyberKongz, the developers said last week, marking the latest regulatory probe into an entity of its type. A Wells notice informs recipients that the regulator is planning on undertaking enforcement actions based on what it discovers from preliminary investigations.
“The SEC’s Division of Enforcement have approached us with very concerning rhetoric that you can not have a token (ERC-20) in tandem with a blockchain game without registering it as a security,” CyberKongz said in a statement Monday. The team added that it would “defend against this stance for the wider space.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has issued a Wells Notice to NFT gaming project CyberKongz, marking the latest regulatory probe into an entity of its type.
“The SEC’s Division of Enforcement have approached us with very concerning rhetoric that you can not have a token (ERC-20) in tandem with a blockchain game without registering it as a security,” the project said in a statement posted to X on Monday.
A Wells Notice informs recipients that the regulator is thinking of undertaking en...
Philadelphia 76ers game: NBA team Philadelphia 76ers have launched "Spectrum Sprint," a free-to-play mobile game with Web3 elements, in collaboration with Crypto.com—a team sponsor since 2021.
The game uses a pixel art style, with side-scrolling gameplay that asks players to traverse iconic Philadelphia landmarks and dash down Broad Street towards the team’s former Spectrum arena. Gamers can unlock digital collectibles and compete for exclusive prizes across four tiers: Rookie, Pro, All-Star, and Legend.
The Philadelphia 76ers have launched "Spectrum Sprint," a free-to-play mobile game with Web3 elements, in collaboration with Crypto.com—a team sponsor since 2021.
The NBA team’s game features a pixel art vibe, with side-scrolling gameplay that challenges players to navigate iconic Philadelphia landmarks and dash down Broad Street towards the team’s former Spectrum arena. Players can unlock digital collectibles and compete for exclusive prizes across four tiers: Rookie, Pro, All-Star, and Legend....
ICYMI
Crypto gaming franchise Pixelverse announced a new tactical deck builder game called MemeBattle.
Ragnarok Landverse, a blockchain-enhanced massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) in the classic Ragnarok Online franchise, will launch on Ethereum sidechain gaming network Ronin in early 2025.
The Ronin version, dubbed Ragnarok Landverse: Genesis, is set to deploy to Ronin after previously soft-launching on BNB Chain. Developer Maxion, in partnership with Ragnarok publisher Gravity, said that the game has already amassed some $15 million worth of NFT sales ahead of the Ronin exp...
The Crash the Runiverse event will unfortunately not go live tomorrow as planned. We've discovered critical issues during testing that will need more time to resolve. More details below:
Following Bitcoin Miner, Fumb Games has returned with another idle mining game that lets you earn real Bitcoin—appropriately named Idle Mine: Earn Real Bitcoin.
While the end result of earning Bitcoin for playing an iOS and Android game is much the same, Idle Mine is actually a very different game than Bitcoin Miner. Bitcoin Miner is crypto-centric, letting you fake-mine coins like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum to power a pixel mining operation, Idle Mine shifts gears as you unearth rare gems...
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...
TapSwap is a Telegram tap-to-earn game that's building on The Open Network (TON), reportedly drawing over 60 million users amid a surge in interest in similar games like Notcoin and Hamster Kombat.
While the basic premise is familiar, TapSwap offers another way for Telegram gamers to potentially earn some crypto while playing, following TapSwap's announcement that it will be launching a token on TON.
With the token launch and airdrop window now set, players have only weeks left to make more prog...
Off the Grid creator Gunzilla Games will debut its Avalanche L1 blockchain GUNZ Network and its native GUN token on March 31, living up to its earlier Q1 2025 launch estimate.
Alongside the network launch, the chain’s native gas token GUN will be immediately tradable on Binance with the seed tag applied, indicating that it comes from an “innovative project” and that the token may be subject to greater volatility and risk.
“The biggest AAA gaming ecosystem in Web3 is heading to Binance— the wo...
Role-playing game Forgotten Runiverse has launched in early access on the Ronin Network, allowing users to master spells and earn rewards as they explore the open fantasy world based on the Ethereum NFT collection, Forgotten Runes Wizard’s Cult.
The launch is the culmination of three years of development work and more than 1 million hours of gameplay testing, according to a post by Ronin Network, the game’s new home after it opted to migrate from Ethereum layer-2 network Arbitrum last year.
“W...
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 happy to present This Week in Crypto Games.
Our weekend roundup serves up the biggest news from the past week, along with a few other tid...
