The gaming industry has always embraced technological advances, having integrated technologies such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and augmented reality. With the development and proliferation of blockchain in various industries, will the gaming sector, specifically esports, benefit from this emergent technology?
How Blockchain Entered the Gaming Scene
It is unsurprising that blockchain has been showing potential uses for the gaming industry. The two are a match made in heaven, as they have similar traits and are a new space that is ready to see great advancements.
The adoption of blockchain would close the gap between offline and online assets and change the interaction of gamers and developers while offering access to digital tokens.
An important property of blockchain is its immutability. Combined with its transparency, this technology can improve trust among developers and players and provide secure transactions for in-game tokens.
By using this technology, the gaming community can benefit from secure, online marketplaces where they can buy and manage in-game assets that can enhance their gaming experience.
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Esports, the Global Phenomenon of Competitive Gaming
Esports also started out as a niche sector of its industry, just like blockchain, and has slowly reached worldwide popularity.
According to data from 2018, there were 2.2 billion gamers at a global level. But this fragmented industry has several areas that could use the improvement brought on by new technologies.
Blockchain can be used in esports to create assets such as identities and collectibles. Another way in which blockchain can help the industry is by offering transparency.
The ledger is immutable and decentralized, allowing all data to be publicly recorded and viewed. Smart contracts can be used for automatically crediting prize awards once the tournament is over. Singaporean startup Bountie makes use of blockchain to host tournaments and allow other gamers to host their own stream.
While there are many streaming platforms where fans can follow gamers and tournaments, a blockchain-powered database could equal prospects. Blockchain can be used to serve as a decentralized public database. Loyalty and incentive models can give token rewards to participating players or tournament viewers.
DApps, decentralized apps that run on blockchain, are utilized to set up a single gaming profile with statistics and rankings which can be used universally across different platforms.
Tradeable game items are an important part of esports. Non-fungible tokens can be used to enable players to buy and sell items either in the game or on specific trading platforms. Players can trade weapons, cards, skins, or even characters openly on a market that could permit them to convert game items into real value.
Digital currencies have become cryptocurrencies or tokens. So, when it comes to marketplaces, payments, and trades, blockchain can be deployed to provide the backbone to trusted transactions and bring security to eliminate the risk of fraud and cheating during tournaments.
While the esports and the gaming industry will continue to grow regardless of what technologies it uses, blockchain can help with aspects such as transparency, security, and token creation.
Crypto payments are another application of blockchain that is widely used in the esports betting sector.
Crypto-based online betting sites have already started changing the industry. Casinos using smart contracts to enable automatic payments and anonymity have emerged, while many other gambling sites are getting into esports betting. 1xBit is a crypto casino and sports betting site where users can place a combination of wagers on some of the most popular esports titles in the world. You can place bets with the best odds on live streams of CS:GO, League of Legends, DOTA 2, Starcraft, and many other games.
Registering for a new multi-currency account is easy, and there is also a sign-up bonus of up to 7 BTC available for new 1xBit players.
