Flooding into cryptocurrency gaming farms, good news for Filipinos?

Author: Eli Tan

Compiled by: Ehan, Wu Talks about Blockchain

Recently, about 20 people crowded into the newly opened Joniel Bon in Quezon City, 10 miles away from Manila. Internet cafe on the second floor. They sat in front of computers with 34-inch curved monitors and played games like Heroes of Mavia and Nifty Island, with music from Taylor Swift and Maroon 5 blaring from the speakers.

Playing these games can become a full-time job, and some of Bon’s customers have settled in to refuel with pizza. These games reward players with cryptocurrency for completing small daily challenges. Typically, players exchange their tokens for the country's currency, the peso, and earn roughly double the Philippines' minimum wage of $11 a day.

(cafe named NFT , when his hopes for the gaming community to flourish were dashed. Now Bon’s new internet cafe is a sign that cryptocurrencies are starting to flourish again in the Philippines, which has long been a hub of cryptocurrency activity. Bitcoin hit an all-time high this month, ending its recovery from the 2022 market crash and leading to a recovery in cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum. New billboards for cryptocurrency companies are now popping up across Manila. People have started harvesting virtual crops as a new source of income from a crypto farming game called Pixels. Filipinos working abroad are also returning home to earn cryptocurrency through the Metaverse.

(Players in the Internet cafe are checking their crypto wallets)

(Anime figures decorated in the Internet cafe)

According to Cha inaanalysis According to data, in November and December, cryptocurrency trading volume in the Philippines increased by 70% month-on-month, reaching $7.3 billion. Game developer Pixels said the number of players in the Philippines surged to more than 830,000 in March from 80,000 in November. And about 30% of the world’s crypto gamers are from the Philippines.

(Joniel Bon, left)

The resurgence in activity has some Philippine officials worried. At a cryptocurrency conference in Manila last November, then-Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission commissioner Kelvin Lee said the government was grappling with how to regulate the technology as cryptocurrencies regain popularity. In the past, cryptocurrencies have been the center of fraud. Cryptocurrency games issue tokens that are more volatile than Bitcoin and Ethereum, meaning the boom could collapse again.

Lee said, “We want to have a safe operating space,” while acknowledging that a strong cryptocurrency industry could help the Philippines, which relies heavily on outsourced customer service and information technology jobs. "How can you operate well if the industry space itself looks disorganized, chaotic, illegal?"

Lee declined an interview request after leaving the commission this month. Last month, the Philippine central bank told local media that it planned to launch its own digital currency in the next two years. Cryptocurrencies have become particularly popular in the Philippines during the coronavirus lockdown. While more than 40% of the country's population is unbanked, most Filipino households have internet access, allowing cryptocurrencies to spread to rural areas. During the lockdown, people started playing Axie Infinity, a PlaytoEarn game developed by Vietnamese company Sky Mavis. In the game, players battle Pokémon-like characters to earn a token called Smooth Love Potion.

(People playing Axie Infinity, photo credit Jam Sta Rosa/AFP)

At the height of Axie Infinity in 2021, Smooth Love Potion was accepted as payment by landlords, gas stations and some restaurants in the Philippines Token. But when the crypto market crashed a year later, thousands of Filipinos lost their Smooth Love Potion savings. Characters from the game were once being traded for thousands of dollars, and were so valuable that some Filipinos even took out loans to purchase them. However, when the cryptocurrency market collapsed, these roles became worthless. "The game works really well when everyone gets into it," said Ian Dela Cruz, a 30-year-old farmer and former Axie player. “But when everyone tried to quit, the game stalled.”

(Former Axie player Ian Dela Cruz stayed in crypto, working as a gaming streamer on Twitch)

Some via Axie Filipinos who successfully made their first fortunes became entrepreneurs, establishing their own companies and gaming collectives called "guilds" that are still growing today. Teresa Pia, 27, is a former Axie player who quit her job as a kindergarten teacher in 2021 to start a crypto gaming guild called Real Deal, which has 54,000 members on the social media platform Discord. Pia said she sees her Discord channel as a “new classroom,” where she teaches many Filipino women working abroad how to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies. With the resurgence of cryptocurrencies, many women have now made enough money to return home to their families.

(Former Axie player Teresa Pia teaches members how to trade and invest in cryptocurrencies in a Discord channel)

Pia said, “The money they receive may seem small, but when you convert When it was pesos, it was a lot of money for them.” Dela Cruz stayed in the crypto industry and works as a gaming streamer on Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch. He is now the captain of one of the largest esports teams in the Philippines. He said many farmers have started playing Pixels and harvesting virtual crops to earn cryptocurrency as extra income. Luke Barwikowski, the game's American founder, said Filipino farmers gave him advice on how to make Pixels more realistic. “Some users will provide us with their crop schedules or watering habits directly.”

Even by encryption standards, the Philippine industry is full of opportunists. Philippine phishing scams are rampant in online crypto communities on platforms like Discord and Former players say that during Axie's heyday, some guild leaders exploited vulnerable players, taking half of their earnings as membership fees. Bon said that in addition to providing computers and resources to guild members, he also sees his job as a protector. "This is family."

(Dela Cruz family’s farm in Pampanga province, where many farmers have started playing Pixels)

While cryptocurrencies are a boon to many Filipinos, some say, They can also move to other opportunities if the industry collapses again. Dela Cruz dreams of managing more farms with her brothers without having to rely on cryptocurrency for income. He said, "Fresh air, the crow of chickens, you can't find this online."

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