Argentines embrace P2E games amid economic inflation

TL;DR Breakdown

• Argentines turn to play-to-earn games to increase earnings as the government levies crypto tax.
• Decentral Games take center stage in Latin America.
• The likelihood of crypto tax and regulation floods the Argentine market following the IMF debt deal. 

In Latin America, Argentina has become the most popular spot for play-to-earn crypto games. Following on from inflation, which is at a 10-month high and is eating away at Argentine salaries, there are a lot of resolves to create more income sources. In recent years, the number of Argentine P2E players has risen dramatically.

Argentines make good on play-to-earn games

According to recent reports, Argentina has risen as the fifth worldwide while playing money games. 9,400 Argentines have already visited Decentral Games in 2022. Decentral Games has benefited most P2E gamers globally through Metaverse’s support.

The number of Argentines who surfed the site this year increased from a few hundred in 2021. Argentina also leads the Latin American region in terms of play-to-earn game usage. The embrace further demonstrates that those players are searching for a method to combat inflation, with prices increasing by 50% each year. Argentina currently comes second only to Venezuela in terms of inflation rates.

In addition, Brazil’s popularity as a P2E gaming destination rose significantly in recent years. It is currently the seventh-most popular online destination for P2E games. The Argentine economy is rapidly deteriorating. For the previous four years, workers’ wages in Argentina have outpaced inflation. Unemployed Argentines of all ages use P2E games to alleviate joblessness while looking for enjoyment.

In Latin America, Argentina, Brazil, and Venezuela have the most Axie Infinity users. Many of these games need substantial start-up cash, which might run into thousands of dollars. Additionally, users must also possess an NFT to play P2E games.

Users in Decentral Games, for example, must own an NFT with a value of $5200 (S$7050) or more to play. However, it’s too costly for Argentines and Brazilians to buy themselves because they lack the necessary funds.

Mauricio Ramos, the head of Latin America for Axie, says that Argentineans are playing on behalf of Americans and Germans since they can’t afford their accounts. Further, Argentines can avoid government financial controls by receiving a portion of the profits in crypto from those they are playing for. There has been some regulatory uncertainty around this business model, although nothing major has emerged yet.

P2E games aiding financial stability

For its part, blockchain technology got pushed to the forefront of several industries. Blockchain’s potential in gaming is being well-explored, and industry leaders are finally ready to deploy it into real-world applications. 

Play-to-earn games have become quite popular in many countries, particularly Asia, for their ability to let people earn credits while playing games. Other Latin American countries have also embraced this idea. Georgia, the United States, and the Philippines are among the top nations using play-to-earn systems.

Argentina has long been a hotspot for bitcoin activity, even before the rise in play-to-earn gamers. Freelancing is becoming increasingly popular among Argentine citizens, owing to the fact that it can be paid in cryptocurrency. BTC and ETH made up 90% of crypto payments.

Argentina has taken a firm stance against cryptocurrency, passing legislation to crack down on the flourishing market and impose a crypto tax. Transactions are subject to check tax, a tax on credit and debts, while cryptocurrencies have an effective tax rate of 0.6 percent.

As reported by Cryptopolitan, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has attempted to discourage crypto usage. Recently, the Argentine Senate voted in favor of a debt settlement worth $45 billion. The IMF forced the government into that position using a debt restructuring plan. On the other hand, Argentines are making considerably more money through cryptocurrency.