Jacquelyn Melinek

<div id="highlights-block_6213aeea3e027" class="highlights">
 <ul>
 <li>FTX Gaming will be a “crypto-as-a-service” platform where gaming firms can launch new tokens and offer support for NFTs</li>
 <li>This news comes a few months after FTX, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Solana Ventures announced their investment to create a $100 million Web3 gaming initiative</li>
 </ul>
 
</div>



Cryptocurrency exchange FTX is jumping into the blockchain-based gaming business with its own unit aiming to reach mainstream audiences.



The new division will encourage more game creators to use cryptocurrencies, blockchain networks and NFTs, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-21/ftx-enters-gaming-as-backlash-grows-against-crypto-s-incursion?utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=twitter&amp;utm_content=crypto&amp;sref=3REHEaVI" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg reported</a>.



FTX Gaming, run through the exchange’s FTX US subsidiary, is designed as a “crypto-as-a-service” platform, where game developers can launch tokens and build NFTs (non-fungible tokens) into their online worlds.



The company is looking to hire two software engineers, ideally aiming for gaming enthusiasts with developer experience in Unity, a gaming development platform.



<a href="https://jobs.lever.co/FTXUS/f91dfa92-38eb-4992-85fb-70fb403db414" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">One</a> of the hires is tasked with product development, plus blockchain integration and improving developer tools for game studios. The other <a href="https://jobs.lever.co/FTXUS/1a47a2a9-2fe4-4d7f-86ee-6eb2bc7b67c3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">role</a> is focused on partnering with game studios and integrating blockchain technology.



A representative for FTX was not immediately available for comment Monday.



The rollout comes months after FTX, Lightspeed Venture Partners and Solana Ventures partnered on a $100 million Web3 gaming funding initiative. It is focused on supporting game studios, technology and projects that focus on the overlap between blockchains and gaming, Blockworks previously <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/ftx-solana-ventures-and-lightspeed-create-100m-web3-gaming-investment/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">reported</a>.



In the past 12 months, blockchain games like <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/axie-infinity-program-lead-2022-will-be-all-about-gameplay/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Axie Infinity</a> grew in popularity and have held steady around 1 million users across almost 400 active blockchain games, according to DappRadar <a href="https://dappradar.com/topic/games" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">data</a>. Users peaked around 1.5 million in early January but have since retracted 28% to 1.09 million.



“In many ways, it could be argued that blockchain’s application to gaming is a no-brainer because gamers are already accustomed to tokenization and purchasing in-game items,” a Solana Ventures representative said at the time.



There’s a <a href="https://cms.blockworks.co/sam-bankman-fried-gaming-nfts-have-mainstream-potential/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">“decent probability”</a> that gaming NFTs could be the driving force behind bringing crypto to mainstream audiences, FTX’s CEO and Founder Sam Bankman-Fried said during a panel at the <a href="https://www.bloomberglive.com/event/bloomberg-financial-innovation-summit-november-4/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bloomberg Financial Innovation Summit</a> in November.



Bankman-Fried, however, said there’s going to be a noticeable difference between crypto companies creating games and traditional developers looking to add digital assets to their franchise titles.&nbsp;



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote">“I think, frankly, it’s really hard to make a really engaging video game,” he said. “I don’t think I can do it. It would take a really long time to build up that expertise. So, when you hear about top-tier gaming publishers looking to introduce crypto into their system, I’m pretty bullish on that.”</blockquote>



Adding a liquid marketplace in games with massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), like Eve Online or World of Warcraft, could speed up the integration, he said.



“One thing I’m really excited about is you take a top-tier gaming studio, that’s making a great game and wants to have market mechanics in it and wants to have real user-ownership of the digital assets in it and wants to use blockchain technology, payment rails and NFTs to enable that,” Bankman-Fried said. “That’s where I would guess you’re going to see the biggest adoption early on.”



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