Play2Live is a streaming platform for gaming and eSports. What sets it apart from current platforms such as market-leaders Twitch and YouTube is that it is blockchain-based, and all transactions on the platform will be paid for with its internal token, the LUC.
The success of the platform therefore partially rests on the ability of Play2Live to attract crypto-users to its site, and, possibly, more importantly, to create new users within the gaming community.
This article looks at the current status of crypto-currency usage globally and what the potential is for its use in gaming and eSports. It also looks at the Play2Live perspective and at the likelihood that Play2Live might succeed in this market.
The cryptocurrency market
Pros and cons of cryptocurrencies
The cryptocurrency market is extremely volatile and risky. The total value has dropped from $830 billion in January 2018, to less than half of that in June. While this sounds very dismal, it is useful to remember that the total value in February 2017 was just $19 billion, so in June 2018, the market was actually up 1 800%!
Crypto enthusiasts talk of the benefits of crypto, and its underlying blockchain technology. These include peer-to-peer, permissionless transactions, without the need for a third party or intermediary; speed and global reach; transactions that are transparent to everyone but are secure and pseudonymous; the ability to crowdfund projects, rather than having to go through venture capitalists or angel investors; the ability to trade on exchanges, without first having to be “high net worth” individuals.
Critics and skeptics will talk about the dark web, money laundering and illicit dealings; they are concerned about the risk of losing funds and the lack of a safety net if an owner loses a security key, makes a mistake in transfers or has funds siphoned out of an account.
Regulators around the world are becoming concerned about their own loss of control over money supply and about tax evasion from crypto holders. They are also concerned about the potential for fraud — especially in the way that digital exchanges and ICOs are run.
Possibly the greatest concern that owners have is the lack of utility of most coins or tokens. There are very few places where cryptocurrencies can be used to purchase goods or services, other than within their own token economies.
Most people think Bitcoin or Ethereum when asked about cryptocurrencies. However, according to investing.com’s March 2018 statistics, there were 1658 cryptocurrencies, with a total market capitalization of $369 billion. The top 20 currencies account for 89% of this value, so the rest — 1638 — are worth a combined ~ $40 billion. Clearly, not all cryptocurrencies are equal, and most will not survive.
It, therefore, becomes important to carefully inspect projects before making a decision to participate in them. What is becoming clear is that the coins and tokens with the least utility value are the riskiest.
According to Coinidol, the best chance of success may be in “projects exteriorizing the real needs of cryptocurrency wallet owners, like convenient payment solutions, blockchain platforms and infrastructure, as well as investment and trading tools”.
Overlap of the profiles of crypto holders and gaming enthusiasts
It’s fairly difficult to know just how many people actually own cryptocurrencies. Using unique accounts is not very helpful as many are inactive or hold very small amounts. Also, many individuals have multiple accounts.
CryptoNinjas did an online survey in March 2018, polling 30,000 people in the 8 largest cryptocurrency markets: the US, UK, Germany, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, China and India.
This study showed that, on average,
· 2 out of 3 people were aware of cryptocurrencies
· 7% of the sample owned cryptocurrencies. (The people polled were internet users, so this percentage may be lower for the general population.)
· Japan showed the highest percentage at 11%, followed by the UK and USA at 9%.
· China was lowest at 3% — but if this number were to be extrapolated to the general population, that would represent a large number of people.
· Only about 4% of those who didn’t already own crypto said they were likely to buy any in the next 6 months.
Similar findings came from an online survey of Americans, also in March 2018. The uptake of crypto was found to be about 10% of the sample. This survey also found that as many as 40% of people were just not interested, and about 35% were concerned about the risk.
An interesting finding reported in The Capgemini World Wealth Report 2018, is that wealthy people are becoming increasingly interested in cryptocurrencies. The report says that 29% of high net worth individuals expressed an interest in buying or holding cryptocurrencies and another 27% said they wanted to know more about them. About half of them were unhappy at how little they were being told by their wealth managers.
What can be said, based on various surveys undertaken, is that
· The level of awareness is growing quickly, although ownership is still in a phase of early adoption.
· Those with higher levels of education and higher incomes are more likely to be owners.
· More men than women are holding coins.
· There is a generational skewing towards millennials.
· While Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the most popular, other cryptocurrencies are starting to gain traction.
The overlap of the profiles of cryptocurrency owners and gaming and Sports fans is very interesting. Research into gaming fans, undertaken by BI Intelligence, shows that “enthusiasts” are mostly male, millennial and well-educated with good incomes — the same profile as for crypto-owners.
This research also found that millennials tend to consume content online rather than via TV or other traditional channels. They are difficult to reach and do not respond to traditional advertising. They prefer interactive rather than passive connection with brands.
The overlapping of profiles of crypto-owners and gaming fans is good news for Play2Live. If part of their purpose is to encourage the use of cryptocurrencies in gaming and eSports, then they are working with the right consumer base.
In addition, they also meet the demands of millennial fans through their unique approach to advertising and the level of interaction made possible by blockchain technology.
Play2Live has a goal of attracting 10 million monthly active users within the first year of operation. This would require the equivalent of a shift of just 10% of the 100 000 monthly users on a platform like Twitch. Statistics suggest that it is not unrealistic to expect that at least that number might make the move to enjoy the benefits of blockchain and the utility of cryptocurrency.
Increasing acceptance of digital payments
The World Bank’s Global Findex report measures access to and use of formal and informal financial services in more than 140 countries. In 2017 it also measured the use of mobile phones and internet technology to conduct financial transactions. Some interesting statistics emerged from this report:
· Financial services are becoming much more accessible because of the widespread use of mobile phones and the shift to digital payments
· Globally, about 1.7 billion adults remain unbanked, but 1.1 billion of them have access to a mobile phone
· In high-income economies, 91% of adults (and 97% of those who have bank accounts) have sent or received digital payments in the last year
· Two-thirds of adults in high-income economies use the internet to pay bills or shop online
· In China, most mobile financial services are provided through third-party payment services like Alipay and WeChat, using smartphone apps linked to a bank or financial institution. However, in Africa, for example in Kenya, financial services are provided directly by network service providers and are not linked to a financial institution.
More and more people are becoming comfortable with paying for goods and services over the internet or from mobile phones. Just as the initial suspicion of digital payments in fiat currencies has abated, there is no reason for the same not to happen with cryptocurrency payments.
The potential crypto market
Probably the most important market indicator for the potential growth of the number of crypto-owners is the commentary coming from institutions such as the IMF (International Monetary Fund).
Some recent comments about crypto assets as “commodity money” deserve repeating:
“If crypto assets lead to a more prominent role for commodity money in the digital age, the demand for central bank money is likely to decline.”
“We cannot rule out the possibility that some crypto assets will eventually be more widely adopted and fulfill more of the functions of money in some regions or private e-commerce networks.”
Monetary Policy in the Digital Age. IMF Report, June 2018
For the skeptics, the comment from Christine Lagarde, MD of the IMF, may be added:
“Not so long ago, some experts argued that personal computers would never be adopted, and that tablets would only be used as expensive coffee trays, so I think it may not be wise to dismiss virtual currencies.”
Managing Director of the IMF, Christine Lagarde in September of 2017.
Cryptocurrencies and eSports
Cryptocurrencies are not new to gamers. The virtual currency has been part of games like World of Warcraft for years. Players have paid real money for in-game currency to buy in-game items rather than play for hours to earn them.
However, both cryptocurrencies and eSports have struggled to be accepted into mainstream usage. Now they are teaming up to provide new solutions.
As eSports have become more competitive and franchises have emerged, so too has the need developed for better regulation, fairer pay and payouts of prize money, and more protection of the rights of players. Blockchain can provide this. All transactions are recorded and cannot be challenged; smart contracts can hold money in escrow to be paid automatically on completion of agreed conditions; crowdfunding can fund tournaments and streamers; donations cannot be reversed as “chargebacks”; middleman payments are eliminated.
Blockchain offers interactivity, monetization options and security that are just not possible on traditional platforms.
Several blockchain-driven startups are offering solutions to the eSports community.
· FirstBlood decentralizes tournament setup and winnings distribution. Players are guaranteed fair conditions and payouts, without a portion going to middlemen.
· Eloplay has a system to detect cheating and foul play.
· DreamTeam provides a team management-type function to assist individual players participating in big tournaments.
· Flux is a gaming platform for matchmaking, developers, streaming and crowdfunding, using its own FLUX token as the method of payment for all transactions.
· DLive is a streaming platform giving special rewards for interaction such as chats and curating (voting or commenting on content).
· Unikrn is a high-tech eSports betting platform, allowing users to bet legally from almost anywhere in the world using its virtual token, the Unikoin.
A recent Asia Gaming Summit held in Taiwan showed how all of these concepts are converging. Topics at the Summit included sports betting, eSports, blockchain technology, cryptocurrency, cybersecurity, big data, lottery, and affiliates marketing.
Play2Live perspective
Unlike other platforms, P2L addresses the whole range of needs of the gaming and eSports communities. As can be seen from the examples given, most other companies deal with these needs in a fragmented way. P2L provides all the services listed in the examples, plus an internal totalizator, escrow services and multiple unique income options for streamers, viewers, tournament organizers and other partners.
Read here for a full description of the P2L services and a comparison with competitors
Play2Live and cryptocurrencies
The gaming industry is BIG BUSINESS and growing. It is predicted to reach $115 billion by 2018 and $130 billion by 2020. Video gaming is the biggest entertainment industry in the world, and eSports viewership has overtaken viewership of traditional sports. It is, after soccer, the biggest global sport.
When we add blockchain, smart contracts and crowdfunding to the mix, a whole new world of business and investment opens up. This becomes even more attractive if we also add a crypto token, such as the LUC, with high utility value.
It is, therefore, no wonder that there are multiple businesses springing up around the world, hoping to cash in on this phenomenon. One of them is Play2Live (P2L) — and it is very well placed to be successful.
Stay tuned!
