A Rural Filipino Community Is Earning Cryptocurrency by Playing an NFT Game
COVID-19 has caused 7.3 million people in the country to lose their jobs.
The ongoing pandemic has caused an economic fallout like no other around the globe. The Philippines, a country with a population of around 111 million people, are especially struggling due to many already teetering the poverty line.
In light of 7.3 million people surviving unemployment, a non-fungible tokens (NFT) game named Axie Infinity is allowing residents of Cabanatuan City in Nueva Ecija, a rural province north of Manila, to get paid to play the game. An 18-minute documentary titled Play-to-earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines highlights the origins of Axie Infinity and how it was discovered.
According to Venture Beat, the game is available for both PC and mobile devices, and uses NFTs to “uniquely identify digital items.” Additionally, players are able to earn a virtual currency called Smooth Love Potion. This type of payment can then be converted to cryptocurrency, followed by real money. A 28-year-old gamer named Art Art told the documentary’s filmmakers Leah Callon-Butler and Nathan Smale that he was able to earn $20 USD in the first 15 days of playing, which is equivalent to almost ₱960 PHP.
Watch Play-to-earn: NFT Gaming in the Philippines in the video above to learn more about Axie Infinity.
