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There are a growing number of blockchain gaming projects aiming to bring the benefits of tokenized assets and economies to gamers. As these projects progress and gain traction and users of their tokens, cryptocurrency use will grow. The number of projects and progression of blockchain gaming suggests 2020 could be the year a number of blockchain games take off and see mass consumer use.
[cta-box postid=”14445″]But are gamers using cryptocurrencies already?
A Spanish collaborative banking platform, 2gether, which offers fiat currency and cryptocurrency services has conducted a study of 10,000 of its users in Europe between April and December 2019. Spanning 19 countries, the study gives some insights into typical cryptocurrency users to date.
2gether, as reported by ZDNet, found that 56% of cryptocurrency users are aged between 26 and 45 years old. More than three quarters, 77%, of these users are male and tend to be white collar professionals. These professions included lawyers, accountants and economists at a substantial 15.64% of users, followed by students at 11.20% of users, and senior executives and business people at 8.82% of cryptocurrency users.
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Of cryptocurrency use, Bitcoin was used most regularly to make payments with 2gether’s services at 51.8%, then Ethereum at 39.28%. Other cryptocurrencies were used in relatively tiny percentages. It’s worth noting that the cryptocurrency used may not be denoted by the user preference but perhaps instead by which cryptocurrencies were accepted where the user was making a payment.
Cryptocurrency spending, with 2gether, occurred mostly in restaurants and hotels at 32.71% of transactions, then supermarkets and grocery stores at 19.13%, and communications at 11.91%.
Cryptocurrency users then, are predominantly male Millennials and Generation Z.
So, what is the typical gamer demographic?
As per Statista and TechJury, 29% of gamers are aged between 18-35, 20% of gamers are aged 36-49 and 23% of gamers are over 50. Though gaming has predominantly been male dominated for decades there are been a sudden shift towards equality. Statista also finds that 45% of US gamers are female, up from 42% in 2018. In 2006 only 38% of gamers were female.
These are just two sets of statistics, and they do seem to indicate some correlation between cryptocurrency user demographics and gamer demographics. For age at least.
Cryptocurrency and blockchain’s potential is beginning to permeate the gaming industry, potentially an organic move too given what results more comprehensive studies could indicate. The sectors of blockchain and gaming, and their users, will surely overlap more and more moving forward through 2020 and beyond.
Image courtesy of Pixabay