Web3 gaming is revolutionizing the gaming world by using blockchain technology, cryptocurrencies, and NFTs to create an immersive gaming experience. This is a hot space, with Ethereum and Solana at the forefront. Each platform has its own unique strengths, attracting a diverse array of game developers and projects. Ethereum, with its deep and mature ecosystem, continues to be home to some of the most popular projects including Illuvium, Axie Infinity, Decentraland, OpenSea. Solana has pitched itself as a faster, more affordable alternative. It pulls developers who need high throughput and cheap transaction fees. These platforms are made possible through the use of many different cryptocurrencies. Each one serves a defined purpose in its ecosystem, be that governance or powering in-game transactions.
This article delves into the ways Ethereum and Solana are making Web3 gaming a reality. It surface the underlying cryptocurrencies powering these platforms and shine a light on what makes them special that’s drawing in developers and players alike. Dive into the roles of various cryptocurrencies to gain a richer perspective on the complexities of Web3 gaming. Recognize the power of their underlying blockchains as they pave the way in this developing metaverse. This article will cover the most used infrastructures in the Web3 gaming field: Ethereum and Solana.
Ethereum's Prominent Role in Web3 Gaming
Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has historically been the linchpin of the blockchain gaming space. Its strong smart contract features and deep ecosystem have made it the most popular blockchain for Web3 game developers by far. Most well-known blockchain games and platforms operate on Ethereum’s network. They each utilize unique cryptocurrencies in order to enrich the gaming experience and maximize community involvement.
Illuvium: A Triple-A Gaming Experience on Ethereum
Illuvium, an open-world, creature-collecting, role-playing game, is one of the marquee blockbusters that show off Ethereum’s potential with blockchain gaming. What makes this game unique is its attempt to provide a triple-A gaming experience in a decentralized, community owned model. Illuvium’s consensus mechanism is a mix of Proof-of-Stake (PoS) and Proof-of-History (PoH), though it remains unproven. The game benefits from Ethereum’s infrastructure to ensure that all transactions are safe and transparent.
With cutting-edge graphics and an epic open-world, Illuvium’s story-rich gameplay brings AAA experience expected from modern video games. Illuvium benefits from Ethereum’s security and global adoption. This strategy brings in the best of both the mainstream gaming world and the crypto-sphere.
Axie Infinity: Breeding and Battling Digital Creatures
Axie Infinity, another prominent example of Ethereum-based blockchain gaming, offers a unique experience centered around breeding and battling digital creatures known as Axies. This particular virtual economy-centered game has exploded in popularity, especially in areas of the world where gamers can earn a liveable wage playing this game. Axie Infinity utilizes two primary cryptocurrencies for its operation: Axie Infinity Shards (AXS) and Smooth Love Potion (SLP).
AXS functions as the governance token of Axie Infinity, enabling holders to vote on the direction of the Axie Infinity ecosystem. SLP, by contrast, is earned by playing the game and spent on breeding new Axies. This double-token structure rewards both players and investors alike with the game.
Decentraland: A Virtual Reality Platform on Ethereum
Decentraland, a virtual reality platform built on the Ethereum blockchain, allows users to create, explore, and monetize virtual land and experiences. We designed this interactive platform to help you jump into the metaverse. Meet & mingle with others, enjoy thrilling exclusive virtual events, trade or purchase virtual property! Decentraland’s native currency, MANA, is used to buy land, goods, and services in the metaverse.
The overarching goal of using MANA across the platform is to make transactions easier while incentivizing users to participate in building the Decentraland ecosystem. By utilizing Ethereum’s smart contract functionality, Decentraland allows users to buy and sell digital assets with complete trust, security, and transparency.
OpenSea: A Leading NFT Marketplace
OpenSea, a leading NFT marketplace launched in 2017, operates on Ethereum and supports various token standards, including ERC-721 and ERC-1155. This digital marketplace has quickly become the leading platform for people to buy, sell and trade NFTs. The seminar is particularly interested in NFTs associated with Web3 games, digital art, and collectibles. With support for all major token standards as well as creator royalties, OpenSea is a secure and convenient platform for NFT projects of all kinds.
The platform’s easy-to-use interface and advanced search features facilitate user acquisition of NFTs. By building on Ethereum, OpenSea makes sure that every transaction you make is completely seamless and secure.
Solana: A Fast and Accessible Alternative
Solana, a blockchain designed to offer fast and low-cost transactions, has emerged as a compelling alternative to Ethereum in the Web3 gaming space. It’s particularly attractive to game developers because of its high throughput and low fees. These features allow them to focus on innovation and deliver more seamless and scalable gaming experiences. Solana gets its high performance thanks to its unique blend of PoS and PoH consensus mechanisms.
This unique scaling solution makes it possible for Solana to process thousands of transactions per second, at much greater speed and lower cost than Ethereum. That’s why so many Web3 game developers are choosing Solana to develop and launch their games.
Solana's Growing Popularity Among Web3 Game Developers
Further, Solana’s performance advantages has quickly made it the chain of choice among Web3 game developers. The blockchain powers a lightning fast 50,000 average transactions per second. This makes it particularly appealing for games that have a lot of in-game purchases or a wide-reaching player base. There are many impressive Web3 games already under development on Solana, like Star Atlas, Aurory, and DeFi Land to name a few.
These games harness Solana’s speed and scalability to provide seamless, immersive gameplay experiences. With a quickly growing ecosystem of free tools and resources, developers have more support than ever to bring their Web3 game ideas to life on Solana.
SOL: The Native Token Powering Solana Games
Solana’s native token, SOL, has a critical function in the ecosystem of Web3 games powered by the platform. SOL is used to pay for transaction fees, participate in staking, and power different in-game economies. Further, many of the games on Solana weave SOL into their reward mechanics, giving players the opportunity to earn SOL just by playing.
Bringing SOL into Web3 games on Solana helps to enrich the gamer’s experience. It makes it easy for players to transact and helps them earn rewards quickly and efficiently. For those unaware, the Solana ecosystem is growing quickly. As Solana’s market share grows, the demand for SOL will likely continue to go up, incentivizing more developers to build on the platform.
Comparing Ethereum and Solana for Web3 Gaming
Though Ethereum and Solana present powerful infrastructures to support Web3 gaming, each chain addresses specific needs and priorities. Ethereum, home to a robust ecosystem and the most secure network, will continue to be the network of choice for projects seeking the highest level of decentralization and trust. In this regard, Solana offers a quicker and cheaper alternative. This combination makes it extremely well-suited for games that require on-chain performance and low-cost transactions.
Ultimately, whether a game should go with Ethereum or Solana depends on the requirements of that particular game. More importantly, it really depends on what the development team wants to do. Most of these projects will decide to develop on both ecosystems. By pooling the unique strengths of each, they can deliver a deeper and richer gaming experience.
The Future of Cryptocurrencies in Web3 Gaming
Cryptocurrencies will increasingly be key to Web3 gaming’s evolution as an industry, driving factors like player ownership and interoperability and inviting more players into the ecosystem. With governance tokens, players have more power than ever. At the same time, in-game currencies are powering dynamic virtual economies, redefining game design, gameplay and game monetization in radical new ways. Blockchain technologies, in general, are quickly changing and developing new capabilities. When paired with immersive gameplay, cryptocurrencies are ushering in a new frontier where players can earn true value.
The gaming and blockchain confluence has huge possibilities, and cryptocurrencies are the biggest part of this revolution. As more developers and players embrace Web3 gaming, the demand for secure, efficient, and versatile cryptocurrencies will continue to grow.
