CryptOps

لا عملة

هذا واحد واضح جدا. إنه مصطلح يستخدم لوصف شخص لا يستثمر في العملات المشفرة أو متشائم بشأن الأصول الرقمية. وهم يعتقدون عادةً أن العملات المشفرة ليس لها حالات استخدام، وبالتالي لا تحتوي على أي ممتلكات أو رموز تشفير أو عملات معدنية. ومن هنا جاء مصطلح "لا عملة".

أيدي ضعيفة

الأيدي الضعيفة هو مصطلح يستخدم لوصف الشخص الذي يبيع ممتلكاته من العملات المشفرة عند أول علامة على تصحيح السوق. هؤلاء المستثمرون إما غير مقتنعين تمامًا باستراتيجياتهم أو يتم خوفهم بسهولة من الأخبار السلبية أو حركة سعر الأصل. في أغلب الأحيان، الأيدي الضعيفة هي التي تؤدي إلى عمليات بيع وتسبب انخفاض الأسعار.

إحدى الميزات الرئيسية للعملات المشفرة هي أنها مفتوحة المصدر. وهذا يعني أن بيانات المستخدم المجمعة، مثل عدد العناوين الفريدة أو حجم المعاملات اليومية، متاحة مجانًا عبر الإنترنت. لكن العملات المشفرة مصممة أيضًا لإعطاء الأولوية للخصوصية، لذا فإن تقسيم تلك البيانات لفهم التركيبة السكانية، أو استخدامها حسب البلد، يعد أمرًا صعبًا، ولكنه ليس مستحيلًا. سنشرح سبب ذلك، والحلول الشائعة ونلخص أفضل الأرقام المتاحة عن البلدان التي اعتمدت العملات المشفرة أكثر من غيرها.

تتميز المنظمات التقليدية بهيكل قيادي يقوده عادة عدد قليل مختار أو حتى شخص واحد فقط على رأس آلية حوكمة الشركات. ورغم الفوائد المترتبة على ذلك ــ عمليات اتخاذ القرار السريعة على سبيل المثال ــ فإن السماح بمثل هذا القدر من السلطة في أيدي قِلة من الناس ينطوي على مخاطر.

يُوصف مفهوم المنظمة اللامركزية المستقلة (DAO)، الذي انتشر مع ظهور تقنية blockchain، كحل لهياكل الإدارة السيئة التي ابتليت بها الأنواع التقليدية من المنظمات. في مقالات أخرى، يدرس Learn Crypto مفهوم DAO بعمق ويناقش الخطوات العملية لإنشاء DAO.

More than a third of the world’s population plays video games, with Statista estimating that the video game industry will be worth over $220 billion in 2023.

The thriving industry has been bullish for over a decade, with plenty of new areas experiencing new spurts of growth, including games based on blockchain technology.

Blockchain-based games or crypto games was already a familiar concept at least since 2016. But it wasn’t until 2021 that blockchain gaming gained momentum with so-called Play to Earn (sometimes abbreviated as P2E) games introducing online video games that used non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrency.

Together with a model that used player-owned economies with in-game assets represented by NFTs and tokens, gamers are rewarded for their interactions with digital money or collectibles that they could later sell for profits.

Connecting gamers with the real-world economy

This never-before-seen model turned the world of gaming on its head. 

One problem with the popular massive multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs as they are known) that currently dominate the industry is that they commanded a huge unsanctioned trades market for the items they earn in game.

While many MMORPGs often had an in-game economy where players traded goods for real currency, players communicated outside the games for to make peer to peer deals, facilitating trades and deals that would normally require the game developer’s approval.

This results in punishments and sanctions on a lot of gamers who, nevertheless, still fuel the demand for underground trades.

With blockchain-based games, developers opt for the peer-to-peer market. They may host marketplaces but also encourage players to trade on external marketplaces. Here, the blockchain is the enabler. It stores the items, and it also facilitates the trades, just as you would send and receive any other token or cryptocurrency.

Essentially, there would no longer be underground markets in play-to-earn games and P2E gamers were formally connected to a real-world economy.

What does a Play-to-Earn game do?

Play game, earn money

While gamer ownership and an interface with real-world economy were the breakthrough principles, the real success of play-to-earn games is simply this: get someone to play a game, and they get money.

At its most basic form, a play-to-earn game is simply an online game using some form of blockchain technology that allows its players to earn for their playing time. Players are usually rewarded with real cryptocurrency of value, or other tokens that can be exchanged or sold for real money.

Thus, it’s hardly uncommon to find that the majority of users in a play to earn game aren’t normally gamers in the first place, but crypto investors and speculators who are there purely for the interest in earning.

A metaverse staple

Play-to-Earn has become a main component of many virtual worlds online – and are at least an aspect of most metaverses built on blockchain. As such, almost any kind of crypto metaverse online has its own form of cryptocurrency and various modes of games that essentially remunerate users for their time and effort spent on the platform.

In fact, since 2021, the majority of decentralised applications or Dapps that have seen the most activity (in terms of transactions on the blockchain) are in the play-to-earn category. The crypto bull market of that period was marked by a huge influx of users playing games to try and earn real money, either by directly generating more crypto with gameplay, or by creating game NFTs of particular rarity that can be sold for profits on digital marketplaces.

In this way, play-to-earn games opened a new type of gaming ecosystem where users had built-in ownership of the game currency and items. Blockchain networks not only hosted the game, but built a direct connection to a larger, interspersed digital economy that reflected real-world value.

How does play-to-earn gaming look like?

Because these P2E games are actually crypto-enabled games, to start playing them, you would need a Web3 wallet. This often works as a login mechanism instead of typical username and password accounts, although many games do allow a form of both types of login.

The reason for a Web3 wallet is simply to keep track of player interactions – with most actions recorded as crypto transactions on the blockchain. Most of this happens behind the scenes, so as a game, they don’t look or feel different from conventional video games.

Depth

The major difference with P2E video games when compared to regular digital games is that they are much simpler on the surface. While a major video game title might spend a lot of effort on plot and storyline, P2E games tend to be shallower in these areas.

Generally, there is the briefest of storylines and plots accompanying P2E titles, and players should expect to be able to dive right into the game after playing a tutorial.

When titles do become popular, game developers then spend time to retroactively build a universe (or metaverse) around the gameplay.

Time-intensive

Since the whole point of P2E games is to encourage players to spend more time in the hopes of earning more money, they also tend to feature simple and repetitive tasks. Monsters do become tougher and missions become more difficult but the solution is usually to invest more time. In other words, P2E gamers should get used to “grinding” or playing more and more hours to overcome increasingly difficult obstacles.

One of the drawbacks of this is a phenomenon common to traditional games that also feature repetitive level-up sessions – where players use automated scripts or bots to play the game endlessly. So instead of meeting other players as the games are designed to be, you may very well end up meeting lots of players using automated scripts. These are usually referred to as “bots”.

Multiplayer

Unlike traditional video games that command such popular followings that they’ve become profitable franchises, all P2E games at the moment are multiplayer. While some titles are working towards longer plot- and mission-based storyline games, even these will feature multiplayer aspects, with a heavy focus on on player vs player (PvP) modes.

In fact, most P2E games will invest heavily into PvP features, to encourage players to outdo each other by collecting more powerful items and equipment or by creating rarer characters with unique traits to gain the advantage over their fellow gamers.

Social

P2E games require many gamers to be successful. After all, if there is no one to beat, then what’s the point of playing? And if there are no players, then there is no demand for the in-game currencies, tokens, items or characters. What’s there to earn if no one is willing to pay the profitable price?

As such, many P2E communities gather online – usually in crypto-friendly platforms like Discord, Telegram, and Twitter. In fact, it is not uncommon for crypto communities to be found in P2E communities – the speculative interest in P2E earnings being a major driver.

Just as with regular gaming, there are also plenty of P2E guilds set up precisely to try and gather communities of gamers together to earn collectively. You can loan powerful items to get a kickstart to your campaign, rent out your own items for money, even join competitions with fellow powerful players to win contests.

Pay to play

One of the main complaints for many new users when it comes to play-to-earn games is that many of them have a high cost of entry.

This is because to even play them, users need to purchase NFTs as starting characters, usually because these characters are needed to either fight or breed new characters in the game.

For popular games, NFT starter packs can be quite expensive, with some titles like Axie Infinity costing a minimum of $300 at some point during peak crypto prices.

This led to play-to-earn gaming titles being labeled by some as “pay to play”.

P2E concept summary

As you can see, the potential to earn real money from a casual activity like gaming makes P2E a highly attractive prospect. However, all of these P2E game characteristics have led to many in the gaming community to draw unsavoury comparisons with mobile gaming (games that are made only for mobile phones). 

Like many mobile games:

there are weak in original gameplay and plot,

they require a lot of time investment to complete mindless tasks countless times,

they are focused on multiplayer aspects with little attention to single-player experiences

They contain a lot of social elements

They favour players who are willing to pay

Another thing about P2E games is that they must interact with their blockchains, so you must always be connected to the internet for the game to work.

The magic stuff: in-game currency and in-game assets

Right, now let’s get back to the “earn” aspect of play to earn or P2E.

Play to earn games aren’t a complex concept but the earning aspect may not be immediately apparent.

Because all of the gameplay is centred around making money, the point in many of these games is for the player to get their hands on potentially rare (and, therefore, valuable) in game assets. These assets can range from skins (think of them as special costumes for your game character or avatar), cards (that denote special traits or statistics that make your character stronger or more powerful) or even specific types of points or game currency.

What’s important to note is that these games only churn out these rewards in relatively tiny amounts for their participation in all manners of tasks. The idea is to repeat the tasks many times to get a significant amount.

Each asset is usually generated randomly by some kind of player interaction. For example:

You can win points by defeating game monsters or other players. The more you win, the more points you have. These points can be used to buy better equipment or exchanged for cryptocurrency.

You can “breed” new characters from existing ones, attempting to replicate rare traits in the offspring. You usually need more points or new characters to breed. The more often you breed, the likelier you are to create a rare character.

You can buy virtual land that either generates points passively or is desirable itself in location in the virtual world. You earn when you flip the virtual land, or rent it out. This is the concept in many early blockchain-based games that bill themselves as metaverse games.

The earning parts come in at various points throughout the game. Most tasks can be done all the time, but there are typically special time-limited events or contests that allow players to earn boosted rewards for a specific period of time.

Some methods are more direct, such as exchanging earned points for cryptocurrency. Other players focus on creating or collecting in-game items (which are generated as NFTs) and then selling them on third-party marketplaces for actual crypto. An NFT marketplace can exist within the game itself or externally, such as on OpenSea. Here, you’ll find people listing better equipment, unique skins, and rare characters, in the hope that other gamers will buy them (since buying is a quicker way than investing time to create these random items).

The different earning approaches

While it’s not really important for the player to know, it might be helpful to understand the two different approaches from the perspective of play-to-earn game developers.

Native Cryptocurrency

The first approach is for developers to create the game’s own native cryptocurrency or token.This then needs a blockchain project developers, making their own design, and creating their own smart contracts. They would also need to create trading markets for these tokens – typically on decentralised exchanges

Learn more about decentralised exchanges or DEX in this Learn Crypto article: “What are decentralised exchanges? DEX explained”.

In this way, the game’s players earn a unique cryptocurrency that acts just like any kind of in-game money, with the exception that they can actually be traded outside on exchanges and, therefore, have real-world value.

One of the first play-to-earn games to gain prominence is Axie Infinity, which uses this approach to create not one, but two native cryptocurrencies: Smooth Love Potion tokens (SLP) and Axie Infinity Shards (AXS). Both these tokens exist on the Ethereum blockchain.

One advantage of native cryptocurrencies lie in recognisability – anyone would know SLP and AXS come from the game Axie Infinity. On the other hand, because these are essentially alternative cryptocurrencies, with no other intrinsic value other than their in-game utility, their value, reflected in price, relies heavily on how much demand there is for the game itself.

As with many games, including Axie Infinity, once gamer activity or user counts start falling on the game, price tends to drop drastically. Price crashes then cause further gamers to leave the platform, as profitability falls, leading to a vicious cycle.

Existing Cryptocurrencies

The second and less popular approach is simply for the game developer to adopt an existing cryptocurrency. This means choosing to reward their players with recognised crypto such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

The obvious benefit of choosing this approach is that the game doesn’t have to spend any effort on marketing their own crypto, or creating blockchain projects around them, or creating and maintaining trading markets for them.

For those familiar with crypto already and already holding in these established cryptocurrencies, the fact that they can earn these crypto directly instead of needing to trade native tokens in the open market can also be plus points.

In the early days of blockchain gaming, this was the typical earning route for many blockchain projects. CryptoPunks and CryptoKitties, while themselves emerging long before the term play-to-earn was coined, were among the first to use NFT collectibles in blockchain games. Both chose to use Ethereum as their currency of exchange (though, formally, they only sold NFTs).

How do I start playing play-to-earn games?

As mentioned previously, the very first step is to get a crypto wallet that’s able to connect you to a blockchain game.

Learn Crypto Academy quests are the perfect place to start learning how to do this – complete the first quest and you’ll have a Web3 wallet that’ll let you play a blockchain-based game to earn rewards.

However, be aware that there is no quick route to riches from playing games. While this article discusses how these games work, there is much to be said about their true earning potential.

Essentially, earning from these games may be straightforward, but profitability is not guaranteed, particularly as you’ve to invest a considerable amount of time and effort into games that may lack the enjoyability and quality of conventional gaming.

ما هي العقارات الافتراضية؟

يمكن تعريف العقارات الافتراضية بأنها ممتلكات افتراضية غير ملموسة يمكن الوصول إليها للشراء والاستثمار على blockchain. تشير الممتلكات الافتراضية في الأساس إلى الأشياء غير الملموسة التي يمكن تداولها في العالم الحقيقي مقابل أموال ورقية أو عملة مشفرة.

على سبيل المثال، يمكنك تداول الأوراق والمواقع الإلكترونية عالية التصنيف وأسماء النطاق.

عندما يتعلق الأمر بالعقارات الافتراضية على وجه التحديد، يمكنك الحصول على قطع أراضي في الميتافيرس بغرض تطوير العقارات أو إنشاء عقارات مدرة للدخل مثل المباني القابلة للتأجير أو الأماكن التفاعلية.

It is a fascinating time to be alive. So many young people are diving into the so-called metaverse to play video games, socialise and even date, while many others from earlier generations are struggling to even understand the concept of living online.

This knowledge gap – a result of digital technologies emerging at pace – forces us to keep on our toes. Those that can’t keep up, easily lose track of what is happening. That’s the thing with metaverse – many people still cannot understand its meaning, purpose and use (and experts can’t really agree on what it really is).

Not that a firm definition is important. Money is already being spent in the metaverse, and commerce is blind to the intricacies, interested only in taking its share of the pie.

And if there is one particular generation that companies and brands are targeting, it is the one with the most disposable income and the most willingness to open their purses – enter Generation Z.

Generation Z (also known as Gen Z/Gen Zers) refers to people born roughly between the period 1997-2012, following the millennials. 

Well past the dawn of the Internet, Gen Zers were practically raised online so it is not out of the ordinary that they represent 60% of metaverse users. Growing up in the times of rapid technological advancements made them easily adaptable to such virtual spaces.

In this blog post we explore this group of people’s main characteristics and how brands can use their large presence in the metaverse to connect with them… and the other way around.

What is Generation Z (Gen Z)?

Already representing the youngest, most ethnically different generation in US history with 27% of the population, Gen Zers are being raised in the midst of technological innovations, internet and social media. A frequent stereotype is them being addicts to technology or being anti-social. The 2000s saw the youth becoming more introverted in real life, but the trend didn't continue on the Internet. Instead, tech-savvy new generations are moving their social life to virtual space.

Before calling out Gen Zers for being tech addicts, we should keep in mind that technology is a generation-shaping consideration. For decades, technology had a big impact on how people communicate and interact.

For instance, baby boomers grew up in times of television expansion and that had an impact on their livelihoods and connection to the world. Millennials have led older generations in technology adoption and embracing digital innovations.

The term metaverse came into existence prior to the birth years of Generation Z, coined in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash. In it, humans, in the form of programmable avatars, interacted with each other and software agents within a three-dimensional virtual space that closely resembles the real world. Many years later, the Gen Zers claim to feel more like themselves in such a digital environment.

While it is not right to generalise, recent research can provide us some insight into the main traits of Gen Z. Razorfish and VICE Media Group findings on Gen Z gamers brought to the table some interesting acknowledgements about these young people, their habits and perspectives. 

They discovered that Gen Zers in the metaverse have been six times more likely to describe themselves as introverts as opposed to extroverts. Half of them stated that they felt more like themselves in the metaverse as opposed to real life. Furthermore, 65% of them claimed that online relationships are just as meaningful as real-life ‘offline’ relationships are. And lastly, many respondents stated that gaming enhanced their mental health.

The research brings up the conclusion that Gen Z spends more time within the metaverse, and more importantly, develops meaningful connections to the idea of online identities. The purpose of the findings was to help brands to connect with this generation within the metaverse and through their top activities such as gaming. 

The results of this study are in line with another one conducted by Deloitte in 2021. More than two thirds of respondents stated that they considered themselves games as opposed to millennials or Generation Y whose number one hobby turned out to be watching tv shows or movies. Post millennials still love to binge watch television but that's a fifth-place hobby to them. 

Additionally, in contrast to previous generations, Gen Zers prefer streaming services to traditional cable and getting content down on their cell phones. The average person in the study got their first smartphone just before their 12th birthday. The new generation communicates primarily through social media.

Another metaverse-related study concluded that a broad majority of Gen Z, and even millennials are engaging activities within the digital environment. Half of the respondents said that they socialise with friends through online gaming. That is different from how older generations used to socialise in the physical world

Interestingly, although the survey stated that millennials buy more cryptocurrencies or NFTs than Gen Z, the younger generation expressed their desire to shop within the metaverse.

Brands in the Metaverse

For decades, companies and retailers have capitalised through economies of scale. Currently they may have to accept a two-track and consumer-oriented model; the first relating to scale and mass consumption, and the other for customization catering to specific groups of consumers.

Many brands have been leaping into the metaverse since it has been forecasted as the future of social media providing another reality where users can socialise, play and exchange transactions. For brands, this is a huge opportunity to monetize, build up a wider customer base and set their digital footprints. Many brands are seeking to find out what the metaverse can do for their brands and how to reach a bigger audience.  

Considering that Gen Zers are the majority of the metaverse population, brands are seeking to adopt new strategies to approach them. The number of studies and surveys on Generation Z are doing exactly that. Generational cohorts give researchers a tool to analyse changes in views over time. In this way, they can provide a manner to understand how divergent formative experiences interact with the life-cycle process such as technological and social shifts. Such data is valuable for brands to realise how to interact with a particular generation.

A recent survey of 4,600 business and technology leaders conducted by Accenture showed that 71% of executives believe that the metaverse will have a positive impact on their company, yet only 42% of them stated that it will be a major breakthrough.

One of the most basic manners that brands can get started in the metaverse is by taking full advantage of the gaming industry, either by partnering up with video games developers or even creating their own video games within the metaverse.

How can Gen Z connect with brands in the metaverse?

Playing games in a virtual world and socialising with friends online were the most popular experiences that consumers were interested in within the metaverse. A worldwide February 2022 survey found that Gen Z and Millennials were generally most interested in metaverse activities.

Virtual concerts of a favourite musical artist were another potential activity that users were extremely or at least very interested in, with 37% of Gen Z and 38% of millennial online users stating so.

After discussing studies on Gen Z main traits and their main conduct within the metaverse, let's take a look at how they shop.

An experimental e-commerce platform with virtual stores in the metaverse, Obsess, created a study to examine customer perspectives on shopping. In relation to Gen Zers, the consumer survey discovered that 75% of them have purchased a digital asset within a video game at least once.

Furthermore, 41% of them think that metaverse shopping options give customers a convenient environment to buy digital items and tangible assets that can be used in the physical world. 

Gen Z gamers prefer gaming content that has good social features, interacting with other Gen Z consumers on online gaming community sites

The data indicates that the majority of youth wants to be able to reach their favourite brands and products anywhere in the online environment. Growing up with online video games, social media and esports, young consumers are open to the idea of a modern-day shopping mall placed within a virtual world where they can shop and socialise.

Can Gen Z and brands connect through gaming?

Since most Gen Zers consider themselves gamers, connecting through gaming sounds as a reasonable strategy for a brand to pursue. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers who have heard of the metaverse think of it as the future of e-commerce and stated they will be open to transacting within it once digital avenues become accessible. 

Gen Z gaming and Gen Z gamers

We already know that most Gen Zers spend their free time playing video games. If you need a good practice example, take a look at Roblox and Fortnite. These online gaming platforms are at the forefront of the revolution. A good reason for this is that the online gaming environment already has all the technology and infrastructure needed to host events with many people and a built-up customer base. In other words, they are in a good position to capitalise on new forms of interactions.  

Taking all these findings into account, it actually makes sense that gaming and the concept of metaverse go hand in hand. Most marketing efforts related to the new generation, their main activities and the metaverse could easily fit into definitions of Web2, such as centering around multiplayer video games that have already been with us for years. This is particularly important today because true Web3 applications are still rare and limited to early adopters.

For example, Roblox is an established video game platform with a user base adding up to 52 million daily active users. It would be a challenge to find a single Web3 app with a fraction of those numbers.

Whether the metaverse will be a major breakthrough or not, it cannot be denied that most of Gen Z is already there and actively participating. Being in virtual spaces seems almost as home to the new generation.

Another point that can be highlighted here is that for them, gaming is the norm that brought them to the metaverse. Brands should focus on meeting the new generation exactly where they are now – playing games in the metaverse.

It is a fascinating time to be alive – while a bunch of young people have dived into the metaverse to play video games, socialise and even date, some other generations cannot even understand the concept.

We may refer to this phenomenon as a knowledge gap in which the use of digital technologies has taken its toll. Innovative technologies have been keeping us on our toes constantly. Those that can’t keep up, easily lose track of what is happening. That’s the thing with metaverse – many people still cannot understand its meaning, purpose, and use. However, the truth is that money is being spent in the metaverse. 

Generation Z (also known as Gen Z/Gen Zers) refers to the generation born in 1997-2012 following the millennials. Gen Zers were practically born and raised online so it is not out of the ordinary that they represent 60% of metaverse users. Growing up in times of rapid technological advancements made them easily adaptable to such virtual spaces. In this blog post you will learn about Generation Z, their main characteristics and how brands can use their large presence in the metaverse to connect with them and the other way around.

What is Generation Z (Gen Z)?

Let's start with a few words about Generation Z. The generation that came after millennials (people born from 1981 through 1996) represents the youngest, most ethnically different generation in American history with 27% of the population. Being raised in the midst of technological innovations, internet and social media, this generation has frequently been stereotyped as addicts to technology and/or anti-social. The 2000s saw the youth becoming more introverted in real life, but the trend didn't follow up on the internet. Tech savvy new generations are moving their social life to virtual space.

Before calling out Gen Zers for being tech addicts, we should keep in mind that technology is a generation shaping consideration. For decades, technology had a big impact on how people communicate and interact. For instance, Baby boomers grew up in times of television expansion and that had an impact on their livelihoods and connection to the world. Millennials have led older generations in technology adoption and embracing digital innovations. The term metaverse came into existence prior to the birth years of generation z. Namely, the term was coined in Neal Stephenson's 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, where humans in the form of programmable avatars, interacted with each other and software agents within a three-dimensional virtual space that closely resembles the real world. Many years later, the Gen Zers claim they feel more like themselves in such a digital environment.

While it is not alright to generalise, a few recent research can provide us some insight into the main traits of Gen Z. Razorfish and VICE Media Group research on Gen Z gamers brought to the table some interesting acknowledgements about these young people, their habits and perspectives. Namely, Gen Zers in the metaverse have been six times more likely to describe themselves as introverts as opposed to extroverts. Half of them stated that they felt more like themselves in the metaverse as opposed to real life. Furthermore, 65% of Gen Zers claimed that online relationships are just as meaningful as real-life ‘offline’ relationships are. And lastly, many respondents stated that gaming enhanced their mental health.

The research brings up the conclusion that Gen Z spends more time within the metaverse, and more importantly, develops meaningful connections to the idea of online identities. The purpose of the findings was to help brands to connect with this generation within the metaverse and through their top activities such as gaming. 

The results of this study are in line with another one conducted by Deloitte in 2021. More than two thirds of respondents stated that they considered themselves games as opposed to millennials or Generation Y whose number one hobby turned out to be watching tv shows or movies. Post millennials still love to binge watch television but that's a fifth-place hobby to them. Additionally, in contrast to previous generations, Gen Zers prefer streaming services to traditional cable and getting content down on their cell phones. The average Gen Z got their first smartphone just before their 12th birthday. The new generation communicates primarily through social media.

Another metaverse-related study concluded that a broad majority of Gen Z, and even millennials are engaging activities within the digital environment. Half of Gen Z respondents said that they socialise with friends through online gaming. For example, that is different from how older generations used to socialise. Namely, previous generations socialised specifically in the physical world. Even though the survey stated that millennials buy more cryptocurrencies or NFTs than Gen Z, the younger generation expressed their desire to do shopping sprees within the metaverse. 

Why should a brand get in the Metaverse?

For decades, companies and retailers have capitalised through economies of scale. Currently they may have to accept a two-track and consumer-oriented model - the first relating to scale and mass consumption, and the other for customization catering to specific groups of consumers. Many brands have been leaping into the metaverse since it has been forecasted as the future of social media providing another reality where users can socialise, play and exchange transactions. For brands this is a huge opportunity to monetize, build up a wider customer base and set their digital footprints. Many brands are seeking to find out what the metaverse can do for their brands and how to reach a bigger audience.  

Considering that Gen Zers are the majority of the metaverse population, brands are seeking to adopt new strategies to approach them. The number of studies and surveys on Generation Z are doing exactly that. Generational cohorts give researchers a tool to analyse changes in views over time. Namely, they can provide a manner to understand how divergent formative experiences interact with the life-cycle process such as technological and social shifts. Such data is valuable for brands to realise how to interact with a particular generation.

A recent survey of 4,600 business and technology leaders conducted by Accenture showed that 71% of executives believe that the metaverse will have a positive impact on their company, yet only 42% of them stated that it will be a major breakthrough. One of the most basic manners that brands can get started in the metaverse is by taking full advantage of the gaming industry, either by partnering up with video games developers or even creating their own video games within the metaverse.

How can Gen Z connect with brands in the metaverse?

Playing games in a virtual world and socialising with friends online were the most popular experiences that consumers were interested in within the metaverse. A worldwide February 2022 survey found that Gen Z and Millennials were generally most interested in metaverse activities. Virtual concerts of a favourite musical artist were another potential activity that users were extremely or at least very interested in, with 37% of Gen Z and 38% of Millennial online users stating so.

After discussing studies on Gen Z main traits and their main conduct within the metaverse, let's take a look at how they shop. An experimental e-commerce platform with virtual stores in the metaverse, Obsess, created a study to examine customer perspectives on shopping. In relation to Gen Zers, the consumer survey discovered that 75%of them have purchased at least once a digital asset within a video game. Furthermore, 41% of them think that metaverse shopping options give customers a convenient environment to buy digital items and tangible assets that can be used in the physical world. 

Gen Z gamers prefer gaming content that has good social features, interacting with other Gen Z consumers on online gaming community sites

The data indicates that the majority of youth wants to be able to reach their favourite brands and products anywhere in the online environment. Growing up with online video games, social media and esports, young consumers are open to the idea of a modern-day shopping mall placed within a virtual world where they can shop and socialise.  

Can Gen Z and brands connect through gaming?

Since most Gen Zers consider themselves gamers, connecting through gaming sounds as a reasonable strategy for a brand to pursue. Nearly two-thirds of Gen Zers who have heard of the metaverse think of it as the future of e-commerce and stated they will be open to transacting within it once digital avenues become accessible. 

Gen Z gaming and Gen Z gamers

We already know that most Gen Zers spend their free time playing video games. If you need a good practice example, take a look at Roblox and Fortnite. These online gaming platforms are at the forefront of the revolution. Namely, the online gaming environment already has in store all the technology and infrastructure needed to host events with many people and a built-up customer base. In other words, they are in a good position to capitalise on new forms of interactions.  

That said, it actually makes sense. Gaming and the concept of metaverse go hand in hand. Most marketing efforts related to the new generation, their main activities and the metaverse could easily fit into definitions of Web2, such as centering around multiplayer video games that have already been with us for years such as Roblox and Fortnite. For example, Roblox is an established video game platform with a user base adding up to 52 million daily active users. Namely, true Web3 applications are still rare and limited to early adopters.  

Whether the metaverse will be a major breakthrough or not, it cannot be denied that most of Gen Z is already there and actively participating. Being in virtual spaces seems almost as home to the new generation. Another point that can be highlighted here is that for them, gaming is the norm that brought them to the metaverse. Brands should focus on meeting the new generation exactly where they are now – playing games in the metaverse. 

Play-to-Earn model (P2E)

Most blockchain games these days incorporate the Play-to-Earn model as a novel and innovative method of gaming. The new model encompasses a totally different gameplay structure than that of traditional video games.

As the name suggests, the traditional Pay-to-Play gaming mode requires players to invest before they can start playing the game. For example, the popular video game Call of Duty required gamers to purchase licences or subscriptions. The Pay-to-Play model did nothing to provide financial opportunities or returns to gamers. 

The blockchain technology emerged as a game changer as it managed to give gamers full control over their in-game items and provided new revenue streams. Before blockchain gaming came into the picture it wasn’t possible to exercise ownership rights over in-game digital assets. Now you have the ability to own in-game assets and sell them to other players due to smart contracts, NFTs and the blockchain technology as its cornerstone. 

Most GameFi projects still require players to purchase crypto assets to start playing and earning. However, there are some P2E games that are free to play and still provide the possibility to gain financial rewards.  

If you are interested in the P2E concept and how gamers earn money doing the thing they love, why not read this article: “What is Play to Earn?”

How does GameFi work?

The new concept has gained popularity due to the potential to earn income, either actively or passively, while having fun in a virtual realm. The integration of gameplay, NFTs, and decentralised finance delivered an enhanced gaming experience with many opportunities to capitalise on. 

Rewards in GameFi come in many different forms, such as cryptocurrencies or in-game digital assets such as plots of virtual land, weapons, clothing, and avatars. Each GameFi project usually has a divergent model, game economy, and tokenomics. There are some similarities though if we consider the technical perspective. 

Digital assets that can be obtained while playing are essentially NFTs running on the blockchain. Such rewards can be earned by completing various tasks, building structures on a digital plot of land, or battling other players. 

NFTs can be then traded on NFT marketplaces. If you want to learn more about NFT marketplaces, you can read this article: “What is an NFT marketplace?”

There is also a possibility to earn passive income in some blockchain-based games. In other words, players can earn passive income by lending their in-game digital assets to other gamers or by staking. The ability to earn passive income expanded the user base of many P2E games. 

Additionally, keep in mind that there are particular GameFi ecosystem fees. Namely, GameFi charges a variety of fees such as trading and yield fees for the GameFi marketplace and the earning program and acceleration fees for launchpad and accelerator. All these fees are invested into the GameFi ecosystem to keep it up and running.

To explain the GameFi concept further, we are going to examine GameFi's main components.

Blockchain technology

Blockchain technology is the foundation of GameFi projects and the P2E model. A large majority of blockchain-based games are built on the Ethereum network. However, GameFi protocols such as Solana, Polygon, and Polkadot have gained a lot of popularity due to their higher degree of capacity and speed characteristics.  

Since blockchain technology is the cornerstone of GameFi, all other important features emerge from it. Running a video game on a blockchain’s distributed ledger enables ownership over digital assets and transparent transactions via smart contracts. 

NFTs and Digital Ownership of In-Game Assets

Due to the blockchain technology as a GameFi foundation, we have NFTs as unique and indivisible tokens that represent ownership over a particular digital asset. The concept of digital ownership is central to many blockchain-based games. NFTs can represent all types of assets, either physical or digital. 

Similar to traditional video games, players can own avatars, houses, weapons, tools, and even animals. The big difference is that, in GameFi, such digital assets can be created as NFTs in the blockchain. In simple words, a player can gain authentic and verifiable ownership of in-game assets. 

The concept of exercising the right of ownership over digital assets, specifically in-game items, created economic opportunities that were not possible before. NFT holders now can monetize their assets in the same manner they can in the physical world.  

Decentralised Finance

Decentralised Finance (DeFi) is a new form of finance that does not rely on central financial institutions as intermediaries. Central financial authorities are, for example, banks. Instead of using intermediaries, decentralised finance relies on smart contracts. 

The introduction of decentralised finance to the gaming industry made crypto gaming even more decentralised. In comparison to old fashioned gaming where traditional game studios had all the power, many GameFi projects enable their communities to participate in the decision-making process in the form of decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs). 

DeFi brought to the table a bunch of new concepts to incentivise and reward gamers. You probably heard of liquidity mining, staking, or yield farming. All these new concepts stem from DeFi. Basically, gamers get the opportunity to stake their in-game tokens to earn rewards, access new gaming levels, or unlock other exclusive items. 

If you want to read more about decentralised finance and the opportunities it provides, take a look at: “Earning from DeFi”.

How to get started with GameFi games?

There are already many blockchain games in the market. As the word keeps spreading about the GameFi concept, hundreds of new game projects are emerging every month.

Due to the popularity of many GameFi platforms, gamers found themselves in a need of a service to collect information about their favourite game. You can do that by checking a gaming marketplace. Gaming marketplaces look into games and recommend games after evaluating them.

Even though each game has its own characteristics, there are a few common steps you will have to follow in order to get started with GameFi. If you want advanced guidance, choose a game and read its relevant documentation, such as the game’s white paper. 

ما هو ويب 3؟

في إحدى التدوينات السابقة، تناولنا تطور الويب وظهور Web3. صاغ تيم بيرنرز لي، رائد الإنترنت، مصطلح شبكة الويب العالمية لتوضيح شبكة عالمية من المعلومات والموارد المترابطة من خلال روابط النص التشعبي. ومنذ ذلك الحين، قطعت الإنترنت شوطا طويلا.

نناقش في هذا الدليل الجيل الثالث من شبكة الويب العالمية ومزاياها الرئيسية وأفضل الأمثلة عليها. غالبًا ما تم استخدام المفهوم الذي صاغه بيرنرز لي لوصف ما يعرف الآن بالويب الدلالي أو الإنترنت من آلة إلى آلة. قد يكون فهم الويب الدلالي أكثر صعوبة من Web3 نظرًا لأن المفهوم يشير إلى شبكة ويب مستقبلية حيث ستتمكن أجهزة الكمبيوتر من فهم بيانات الإنترنت مباشرة. لذلك، على الرغم من أنه قد يكون جزءًا من المجموع، فلا تخلط بين Web3 ومفهوم الويب الدلالي نظرًا لأنهما ليسا بالضرورة مرادفين.