A $50 billion market?
More than two-thirds of people who play video games are actively interested in cryptocurrencies, according to a recent survey by Worldwide Asset Exchange (WAX).
The research shows that 64% of participating gamers welcome Bitcoin transactions.
A $50bn market
In a white paper published just last week, WAX reports that more than 400 million gamers purchase $50bn in virtual items worldwide every year. The research found that the majority of virtual goods trading occurs for games published by Valve Software through the Steam Store.
The top six publicly traded game companies posted 2017 revenue of $41 billion, with virtual assets also being used by Sony, Tencent, Microsoft, Nintendo, Activision Blizzard, and EA.
A global solution
The white paper also reports that some of the most popular games with tradable assets include Dota 2 (103 million downloads), Team Fortress 2 (39 million downloads) and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (30 million downloads).
Each garners a sizable audience and together, these audiences would constitute the third largest country in the world.
Online video gaming is a global phenomenon, with most trades occur between players in different countries. One benefit of blockchain technology the paper highlights is the way it eliminates transaction costs such as international payment processing fees and value lost through currency conversion.
Gaming’s next major evolution
Commenting on the findings from the WAX survey, BitGuild CEO Jared Psigoda said, “Millennials always welcome new industry dynamics, they can understand and appreciate the benefits of blockchain technology, especially its participatory aspect.
Blockchain empowers millennials to become part of the platforms they believe in and thus create more comprehensive and better models for various technologies. I honestly feel that blockchain will trigger the next major evolution for the gaming industry”.