The reputation of crypto technology-based digital assets – especially cryptocurrencies – has taken a bit of a hammering recently. Perhaps this was to be expected, given the sky-high expectations and ‘emperor’s new clothes’-level hype that has surrounded all things crypto over the past few years.
But crypto is about much more than alternative currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Decentralised blockchain- and token-based technology is seen by many as being at the heart of a much broader web3-based digital future.
The web3 vision presents a new decentralised, web-based digital economy – or metaverse – in which digital assets, tokens, smart contracts, and decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs) can interact in novel ways. Its purpose is to enable new forms of collaboration and value exchange – all with lower costs, improved security, broader participation, and greater equity.
Online game developers blazing a trail.
One sector that has led the way in creating new value around digital assets is gaming. Game developers blazed a trail in the use of virtual goods in the Web 2.0 world, and have been quick to recognise how blockchain and tokens can be used to create and protect new online assets.
Crypto technology enables online players to collect and securely own virtual assets, which can be exchanged or traded within the game or on other platforms, anywhere in the world. It offers the gaming industry – and other sectors – a simple and secure way to trade in virtual goods and services, and earn real money.
The real challenge now is building trust in the underlying crypto technology. Regulators and other stakeholders around the globe are developing frameworks and mechanisms for digital assets to improve transparency and compliance, and reduce risks for participants.
A recent example of this is Worldline’s partnership with online multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) developer Crypto Rogue Games to develop a compliant crypto/NFT gaming ecosystem. Using Worldline’s PaymentIQ payment orchestration solution, gamers will be able to deposit traditional (fiat) currencies, and in-game mechanics will support a play-to-earn model in which players can earn NFTs. Worldline will provide the transaction ‘on-ramp’ for a gaming experience based on the NEAR protocol.
Simple, safe, secure access.
The Worldline–Crypto Rogue Games partnership not only gives gamers easy access to online games using their preferred currency, it also provides an added layer of comfort and security. The PaymentIQ platform’s connectivity with leading Anti-Money Laundering (AML) / Know Your Customer (KYC) providers enables the gaming platform to seamlessly orchestrate payments and KYC in a single flow. This makes it fully compliant with Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP) and Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA) regulations, for example.
The purpose of this type of solution is to make the on-ramp process as simple, streamlined and secure as possible. In a broader sense, it enables developers to introduce new economic models for compliance and simplify the user experience – at enterprise scale – not just for gaming but for any crypto-based application.
