How Does The eSports Industry Contribute To The Crypto Market?
The eSports industry can be considered as the most distant from cryptocurrencies. How can a field specialising in video games be remotely connected to finance? Well, the same way any other sport is connected to finance. Football, basketball, Baseball, you name it.
In fact, eSports is a lot more affiliated with the digital world than any other conventional sport, which aligns it to a niche where the Blockchain thrives. But looking at the size of the eSports industry, does it really contribute notable capital to the crypto market? Let’s find out.
Game developers utilizing crypto
eSports is a completely separate section of the video game industry, therefore single player games can be completely removed. Every eSports game is an online endeavour and includes people utilizing their skills to out-smart, or out-play their opponents. The games can be 1 vs 1 or chaotic 5 vs 5 teams.
Furthermore, there are separate genres of eSports. These can be shooters, MOBAs and Real Time Strategies. All of which require a player to have lightning speed reactions, the mastering of their keyboard as well as the character they play as. Becoming a professional eSports player is just as hard as becoming a professional Football player by some estimates, and the pay is just as good for the age group.
According to topesportsbettingsites.com, the average professional eSports player is able to rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars every year, just thanks to the tournaments. If we add streaming and sponsorships to that equation, we may reach millions. Therefore it’s easy to see why cryptocurrency companies and the game devs themselves would look to these people.
Crypto payments & bonuses
Most game developers utilize cryptocurrencies for their digital payment platforms. For example, a game may have an option to customize your character through various outfits only accessible through an in-game shop. Most people would use real money to buy these upgrades or outfits, but more and more games have been offering cryptocurrency payments to the players.
One of the most successful eSports game developers, Riot Games, which is the creator of League of Legends, started offering cryptocurrency rewards to players who would utilize their referral system.
Players are able to recieve cryptocurrency rewards for registering other people for the game. The coins offered are mostly used for in-game purchases, but it is not out of the question to see them on various exchanges.
How these in-game coins affect the market
The coins themselves would usually go for less than $0.1 on the market, but it doesn’t mean that they have no effect. In fact, eSports related cryptocurrencies are responsible for spreading awareness in younger communities. People who enjoy playing or watching these games get exposed to the Blockchain, without even realizing it.
And once you know about the Blockchain, there is a high probability that you will participate in the trading process.
By gathering these in-game coins and storing them up, some players are able to later exchange them for large cryptos such as Ethereum, Bitcoin and Litecoin. Which later gives them the opportunity to become active players of the crypto market. The eSports industry acts as a sort of conversion source for the market, so to speak.
The less appealing benefit for the market
Any sport in the world will have their own version of betting, and eSports is not an exception. Many people think that most of the spectators are under-age youngsters, but in fact, the majority of the fans are 18+ years old, which qualifies them to participate in gambling activities.
Many companies have been created to accommodate this market, and some of them are notorious for offering crypto as a means of payment. Most participants would transfer the local coin on to their account and bet on a certain team’s victory or loss. Should they be successful in their guess, they would receive an increased amount of the same coin.
This was one of the best ways to monitor remittance of the coins but unfortunately used for unsavoury means.
Will the interest grow?
The eSports industry itself is on the rise. Although most of the trends tend to change very often, the entertainment value still remains. A game may become outdated or lose its popularity, but there is always a new one that takes its place. Take for example the MOBA genre. It has definitely fallen from its grace, but a new genre called the “Battle Royale” has overtaken it as the “most watched”.
No matter what happens to the industry, there will always be a new game to rely on. In the end, the separate sections of eSports will culminate in a worldwide audience, ripe for cryptocurrency implementation and marketing strategies for various exchanges and companies.
