What Artists Love About Crypto
Blockade Games co-founder Marguerite deCourcelle discusses the impact of Bitcoin on artistic careers and how crypto could redefine modern art. She highlights the use of blockchain technology in art projects, particularly non-fungible tokens (NFTs). deCourcelle explains that her startup, Blockade Games, sold $160,000 worth of crypto assets, including NFTs, with most profits coming from two editions of their first game, Neon District. The company has minted over 850,000 assets for blockchain game players.
deCourcelle initially gained attention through paintings that contained clues to hidden Bitcoin prizes. She then transitioned into creating interactive digital art combined with written roleplaying folklore. Her video games allow players to start playing without any barriers, earn tokens in the background, and be notified when they create something unique. This co-creative process with the audience allows for individual experiences that can scale.
NFTs have gained traction in the gaming industry, with gamers earning over $20 million through trading and startups generating approximately $13.6 million from selling digital assets. While the popularity of games like CryptoKitties surged in 2017, other gaming dapps like Gods Unchained and My Crypto Heroes have also seen success in selling digital assets. However, many games struggle to retain users beyond the first year, but improvements are expected in 2020.
Investors remain interested in NFTs, as seen by the acquisition of NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss of Gemini crypto. Nifty Gateway has partnered with various artists and brands, and their digital pieces have sold successfully. Despite criticisms and limited usage of crypto games, some believe certain startups show potential for success.
Blockchain analytics firm Flipside Crypto reports that a small percentage of Bitcoin wallets hold a significant portion of the assets. However, there is optimism that broader demand from millions of users could drive value. A survey by Crypto.com suggests that the majority of crypto users believe cryptocurrency needs to be used as a currency for mass adoption, which they predict could happen in the next five years.
DeCourcelle emphasizes the focus on art and story in her video games, allowing for unique and interchangeable tokenized parts in characters. Although CryptoKitties has seen a decline in daily users, there are still possibilities for NFT experiments. The analytics from Flipside Crypto reveal substantial earnings for top users of CryptoKitties, which may be appealing to avid gamers.
It is still early for crypto games, and there is a need for a significant number of daily users for these apps to be successful. However, Balter from Flipside Crypto believes there will be improvements in 2020, particularly in models that allow users to monetize their experiences, leading to the success of companies in the space.
#Web3.0 #NFT #Blockchain #Crypto #Cryptocurrency #AI