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Australian startups continue making inroads in the blockchain gaming sector and now boast some of the most in-demand products on the market.
Is Australia the next blockchain gaming & NFT hub?
While the blockchain space is largely borderless and successful projects have been incubated all around the globe, there still are a couple of notable hubs. Miami has been trying to lure in successful blockchain companies by offering favorable regulation in combination with its pleasant Florida climate. California, traditionally the mecca of tech companies, is a strong player in the blockchain space as well, with several companies based in Silicon Valley. Hong Kong and Singapore have also established themselves as Asian crypto hubs.
No one has “claimed” the blockchain gaming hub yet, but Australia may just do so, considering its output of successful gaming and NFT projects. Some of the most well-known projects include Zed Run, Illuvium, Immutable X, and Crypto Gaming United.
The Who is Who of Australian crypto companies
If most of these seem unfamiliar, now is a good time to catch up because they are unlikely to go away.
Illuvium
Illuvium is a wildly successful blockchain role-playing game created by the Warwick brothers. Stunningly, the game itself has not even been released yet, but the anticipation and hype around it have been so strong that its token price has surged to unseen heights. The game will combine open-world elements with fantasy and is to resemble a full-fledged traditional video game.
Zed Run
Zed Run is a blockchain-powered digital horse racing startup, where players can buy, sell, and breed virtual horses they own on Ethereum. These horse NFTs have netted Zed Run millions of dollars and turned its virtual horse track into an overnight success.
Immutable X
Immutable X is a layer-two solution for Ethereum that focuses on gas-free and lightning-fast transactions of NFTs. Being designed specifically as an NFT-focused blockchain, Immutable X is vying for the position as “the NFT blockchain,” as most projects struggle with Ethereum’s congested network and outsized gas fees.
Crypto Gaming United
Crypto Gaming United is an NFT lending platform, where players can increase their earnings from other games and open up better opportunities for play-to-earn games.
What Australian crypto founders think
A couple of companies do not make for a takeover yet, but with Illuvium and Immutable X, Australia has at least two household names putting themselves on the map. That may well spark further innovation, especially since blockchain gaming and NFTs will only grow from here. “I think gaming will evolve to be one of the biggest use cases for NFTs over the midterm,”” says James Ferguson, co-founder of Immutable X
AirTree was one of the investors in Immutable X, and its partner John Henderson weighed in on why Australia was so strong on blockchain gaming: “I don’t know why we’re disproportionately well-represented in NFTs and gaming, but it’s certainly true that we are.” He also said that he believed success was less about Australia itself but more about the blockchain sector mitigating some of Australia’s traditional weaknesses like limited market size and geographical remoteness. The global nature of crypto has allowed the country to make a play for the world’s blockchain gaming mecca.