The meteoric rise of blockchain games such as Notcoin on Telegram is encouraging broad adoption of cryptocurrency. Notcoin’s idle game, where users simply tap screens to earn NOT tokens, has enabled more than 30 million people to set up cryptocurrency wallets on The Open Network (TON) in less than two months alone. The surge in popularity of such games marks a new onboarding pathway for new users into the Web3 cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Inal Kardan, the gaming lead at the TON Foundation, attributes the sudden influx of Notcoin’s users to the game’s simple mechanics such as sharing and mining within the popular messaging platform of Telegram. Kardan points out the shift from “play-to-earn” models that we see in other successful Web3 games like Axie Infinity, towards more traditional monetization tactics found in games like Notcoin, which include advertising.
For blockchain gaming venture capitalist firm animoca Brands, co-founder Yat Siu credits the resurgence of Web3 games to the adaptability of the TON and Telegram platforms in capturing viral growth mechanics, which have been withdrawn by Web2 players like Facebook, Apple App Store, and Google Platforms. Siu acknowledges the longtime popularity of idle clicker games, but notes that distinctive user engagement approaches such as Notcoin’s have the end-users gaining significantly more value.
Gamee, a Web3 gaming company deploying hyper-casual games on TON and Telegram, has seen a notable increase in player engagement due to staking and idle game mechanics which have pushed their average daily active user count to around one million. Siu highlights that a significant fraction of Telegram users are already well-versed in crypto, indicating an ideal blend for Web2 and Web3 gamers in a shared ecosystem.
Michał Dąbrowski, CEO and founder of Elympics, a blockchain game infrastructure provider, believes that game developers traditionally grapple with monetization mechanics and incorporating blockchain-based infrastructure could fill that void, enabling studios to incentivize and engage players through cryptocurrency wallets. Dąbrowski also points toward an enormous potential for the TON ecosystem, particularly given Telegram’s expansive user base.