This video game is turning the pandemic jobless into crypto traders

In Axie Infinity’s virtual world of Lunacia, players steer colourful, blob-like creatures called Axies to acquire two kinds of coins. — Axie Infinity

When Vincent Gallarte was laid off in July, the Manila IT analyst found an unusual financial lifeline: an online game that rewards players in cryptocurrency. In his first two weeks of Pokémon-like questing and battling, Gallarte earned more than 37,000 pesos (RM3,103), three times what he would have made at his “real job”.

Like a lot of newcomers to so-called play-to-earn games, the 25-year-old Gallarte hadn’t had any particular interest in the world of Bitcoin, Ether and other cryptocurrencies. Now he imagines a lucrative side-hustle. “I started playing Axie the same day my employer terminated my contract,” he said. “I’m so grateful.”