Op-ed: GameFi, not memecoins, is positioned to create lasting cult-like communities in crypto due to its combination of genuine gaming engagement and financial incentives.
The now-viral talk by crypto influencer Murad at this year’s Token2049 event in Singapore sparked a heated debate in the web3 community. In it, Murad – a huge advocate of the so-called “Memecoin Supercycle” – claims that memecoins have seen such outlandish success because they create a sense of “cultish” belonging, going as far as to compare them to religions.
And, indeed, we’ve seen some cultish behavior around memecoins. Overall, this nascent sector has seen tremendous growth in recent months, leading to a strong rally and supercharging trading activity on blockchains like Solana. So far this year, the sector has exploded by around 400% to a total market cap of $129 billion – 3.59% of the total crypto market cap, according to data from CoinMarketCap.
With memecoins becoming an asset class in their own right, and even crypto hedge funds investing in them in search of explosive growth, Murad isn’t wrong to single them out. Neither is he wrong to call out the launch models of most altcoins – where large allocations go to VCs and early supporters that make a huge profit when the token launches, at the expense of retail traders. This doesn’t happen with memecoins, where launchpads like Pump.fun have made it so easy to create new tokens that investors can participate in to realize 100% of the potential upside.
However, despite how attractive the idea of worshipping cats, or even squirrels, might seem to some, it’s foolish to think that memecoin trading is about anything but the promise of outsized gains. And while we will almost certainly continue to see people making life-changing money from memecoin trading, it’s in GameFi that the true religion-like cultish communities are to be found. And that’s why GameFi is set for explosive growth in this cycle.
Life-Changing Money
It’s easy to see why investors have been piling into memecoins with headlines like this flying around: “Luckiest Trader Ever? From $16 to $3 Million in 2 Weeks on a Meme Coin”. This was a Decrypt article about a trader investing in Peanut the Squirrel (PNUT), the memecoin dedicated to the late social media sensation that was euthanized by the New York state on fears it might have rabies.
With a following of more than 500,000 on Instagram, it might seem like people are rallying behind Peanut to express their strong belief in animal rights. And, I’m sure, some are. But, despite Murad’s suggestion that this is evidence of investors “believing in something”, the reality is that most people are just chasing their dream of turning $16 into $3 million in a couple of weeks.
And can anyone blame them? With inflation eroding our wealth and salaries struggling to catch up, many Gen Z adults fear they will never be able to afford their own homes. When people get desperate, the potential for life-changing gains becomes more tempting, especially when it seems like such a far-away goal for so many to reach financial independence and freedom.
It’s this hope, rather than a cult around memecoins, that’s driving people into different narratives – be it euthanized squirrels or AI-powered memes. But the reality is that most of these memecoins will lose momentum and their dedicated communities will dwindle – because it’s not about believing in something, unlike what Murad says. It’s about realizing the dream of financial freedom, and this requires results, not faith.
The True Growth Sector
GameFi, however, is totally different and we’re only just beginning to see its massive growth potential. While global gaming is expected to more than triple from $281.77 billion today to over $665.77 billion by 2030, GameFi is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.2% until 2032, reaching a market cap of $125 billion. That could make it roughly 18% of the total gaming market by the end of the decade.
It’s easy to justify this growth. While memecoins are a relatively new phenomenon built around hype, gaming has had a cult-like following for decades. Games like the Legend of Zelda, Final Fantasy, or World of Warcraft amassed loyal, die-hard fans whose devotion to their chosen game was never linked to the promise of financial gains. And, indeed, many are still playing.
Web3 gaming is different because of the play-to-earn or play-and-earn models that introduce financial incentives, and as a result, we have seen some Web3 games struggling to retain users. Think of Hamster Kombat, for example, which lost 86% of its users after its airdrop left many disappointed. This only shows that cults can be incredibly short-lived in crypto if the financial returns don’t follow. This is the opposite of religion – a belief system that isn’t based on short-term rewards.
The Future of Gaming
Overall, though, the potential of GameFi to attract true believers is obvious to me, because we have already seen this in traditional gaming. Web3 gaming marries fun and community engagement with crypto incentives, and this is where its potential lies. A staggering 3.32 billion people worldwide already play video games, according to estimates, with no financial incentives. Imagine what will happen when gamers can enjoy everything they did in the past, while being able to monetize it to some extent?
With developments like the Battle Royale game Off The Grid, which attracted 9.12 million wallets in the first month of launch, and the hype around Sui’s first handheld Web3 gaming device – SuiPlay0X1 – I’m beginning to see the early signs of Web3 gaming cults that could enjoy the same longevity as Zelda or World of Warcraft.
This is why I’m convinced that GameFi could be the true growth sector of crypto. Of course, like any new technology, we will experience teething problems. There is a need to align incentives to support long-term growth, not just short-term airdrop hunting. But not every video game became as popular as Zelda, and equally, not every Web3 game will become a “religion”. A select few, though, will gain a huge following, and in a decade, we will still be talking about and playing these cult games. Meanwhile, many of the memecoins making headlines today will fade into oblivion.
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