Latin Americans flock to online crypto games as inflation devastates salaries

As soaring inflation continues to erode the value of local salaries, Argentines are turning to “play-to-earn” crypto games for a boost in income.

South America’s second-largest economy has become the top place in Latin America and the fifth around the globe when it comes to playing games for profit – with 9,400 visits so far this year to Decentral Games, currently the metaverse company with the most players in the world. Neighboring Brazil also shows up on the ranking and is now considered the seventh-most popular place for such games, Bloomberg reported.

Although Argentina and Brazil are both known for their love of playing on the soccer field, their attraction to crypto games comes as little surprise to economists as both countries are struggling to manage double-digit inflation – trailing only Venezuela in the region. In Argentina, for example, prices are growing at a pace above 50% per year and wages have grown below inflation for the past four years. In Brazil, inflation doubled in the last year to above 10% per year – although pundits worry that the rates could look much worse if Bolsonaro loses the upcoming presidential election.

“Argentina and Brazil’s trends show the numbers will keep rising,” said Gabriel Mellace, Decentral Games head of investor relations. “Young people are not only looking for profitability. They’re also looking for fun.”

Ultimately, Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela are the countries with the most Axie Infinity users in Latin America – a platform where players earn tokens by winning “battles.” According to Mauricio Ramos, Axie’s head of Latin America, however, most users have to borrow American or European accounts because they cannot afford to open their own accounts.

Several gaming platforms – including Decentral Games, Axie Infinity and Sandbox – require users to have an NFT to play. Because these can cost up to $5,200 to obtain, Latin American users often buy “NFT delegations,” which are NFT rentals and play on behalf of Americans and Germans.