Blockchain technology is gradually infiltrating the world’s major industries, starting with finance and working its way through e-commerce, banking, real estate, and more.
Entertainment, and gaming, in particular, is a major candidate for blockchain integration, being an area that already heavily utilizes virtual currencies and transactions.
With crypto and the gaming industry both fostering enormous global communities, this trend is very much on the rise. As a result, we have identified some of the best gaming crypto coins available in 2024, with Sponge V2 standing out as a particularly attractive option.
This month, we expanded our listings by including Sponge V2. In addition, we removed a few older projects as part of our adjustments.
- Fun feline meme coin with the potential to be the next Smog
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USDT
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- A meme token with up to 257% in rewards
- CEX listing and a play to earn game on the roadmap
- Sponge V1 made 100x in 2023. Join V2 presale
- ETH
- USDT
- Debit
Our picks of the best gaming crypto coins in 2024
With blockchain technology fast infiltrating the gaming sector, there are already countless projects to choose from.
We’ve narrowed things down with the picks below.
- Sponge V2: The second edition of the hugely popular 100x meme coin from 2023. The new version brings a built-in play-to-earn racing game in which users can spend and earn $SPONGE tokens
- Decentraland: Metaverse project allowing users to buy and sell virtual ‘land’ using MANA, its proprietary token.
- The Sandbox: Similar to Decentraland, this project allows users to own in-game assets and trade pieces of themed, virtual worlds, which are minted as NFTs.
- Axie Infinity: Similar to classic franchises like Pokemon, Axie Infinity allows users to acquire, train, and battle virtual creatures called ‘Axies’. Players can earn in-game assets or crypto by completing quests.
A closer look at the top gaming tokens in 2024
Here is a closer look at our eight best gaming coins, complete with each project’s background, features, advantages, and drawbacks.
1. Sponge (SPONGE): The return of a hugely popular meme coin with a play-to-earn racer game added
Sponge took the meme coin world by storm in 2023, soaring to a 100x price increase and reaching a $100 million market cap.
After running out of steam slightly towards the end of 2023, the project is back in 2024 with version two of the original Sponge, this time bringing additional utility in the form of a play-to-earn game.
Described by the game developers as a “wacky” P2E racer, the Sponge gaming ecosystem will allow users to play against other community members using popular cartoon characters, such as those from Spongebob Squarepants.
Crucially, the game will add utility to the $SPONGE token by allowing holders to purchase in-game credits, which can be used to participate. Doing so will, in turn, enable them to earn additional digital assets.
The development team recently announced the launch of the Sponge P2E Racer game. The game developers have announced the production of Sponge P2E Racer, which could potentially be a catalyst for sending $SPONGE on a price run, hoping to reignite its previous success.
Pros
- Meme coin market is hot right now
- Potential to replicate the huge success of Sponge
Cons
- No timeline specific for launch of P2E game
| Project | SPONGE V2 |
| Ticker | $SPONGE |
| Max. Supply | 150 billion |
| Blockchain Platform | Ethereum |
| Inception | 2024 |
2. Decentraland (MANA): Gamified virtual real estate and full ownership of in-game assets
Another Ethereum-powered virtual reality project, Decentraland brings a computer-generated world split into segments that can be bought and sold.
Decentraland’s virtual world, ‘Genesis City’, is made up of ‘LAND’ parcels, which can be owned, rented and sold in exchange for $MANA, the project’s native currency.
Aside from being exchanged for LAND, $MANA is eligible to be used across the entire Decentraland ecosystem. For instance, items such as in-game wearables and creative services such as professional development studios are available for purchase.
The unique and engaging concept behind Decentraland has clearly resonated, with the project raising $24m in 2017 in one of the best crypto ICOs of all time. The $MANA token also went on to surpass $5 in 2021, despite launching at just $0.025.
Despite crashing throughout 2022, the token has rebounded during the past year, up by nearly 25%. It also boasts a market cap of close to $1.5m. And sits comfortably in the top 100 cryptocurrencies on the market.
Pros
- Unique concept
- Community owned and governed/li>
Cons
- Currently has a low player count
| Project | Decentraland |
| Ticker | $MANA |
| Max. Supply | 2.2 billion |
| Blockchain Platform | Ethereum |
| Inception | 2018 |
3. The Sandbox (SAND): Metaverse gaming platform based on user-generated content
Like Decentraland, The Sandbox is a blockchain-based metaverse platform, encouraging the creation of virtual environments and the exchange of LAND.
The Sandbox, as the name suggests, leans more in the direction of popular titles such as Roblox, encouraging user-generated content and creativity. By comparison, Decentraland is more focused on gaming.
$SAND, the project’s native ERC-20 token, powers the ecosystem, being used to buy virtual avatars and elements called ‘ASSETS’. ASSETS are generated through ERC-115 smart contracts, and can be both fungible and non-fungible.
The Sandbox saw huge upticks in value following its launch, soaring to an all-time high of $8.44 in November 2021, despite launching at just $0.04 around a year earlier.
Like Decentraland, $SAND has dipped in recent years, but appears to be on the rise again, surging by more than 50% between February and March 2024.
Ranked #69 in CoinMarketCap’s top-100 crypto coins list, the project it boasts a market cap of $1.6bn, with more than 2.2 billion tokens in circulation.
Pros
- NFTs ensure safe and secure ownership of virtual land
- Wide scope for creativity and autonomy
Cons
- $SAND is only useful to users of the platform, meaning that it carries limited value
| Project | The Sandbox |
| Ticker | $SAND |
| Max. Supply | 3 billion |
| Blockchain Platform | Ethereum |
| Inception | 2020 |
4. Axie Infinity (AXS): Pokemon-esq avatars with more than $4bn in NFT revenue
Among CoinMarketCap’s top-10 gaming coins and the largest blockchain games project on this list by market cap, Axie Infinity is widely recognized as a leading force in the world of GameFi.
In a nutshell, the project revolves around Axies, a series of collectible, Pokemon-like characters. Players can buy and sell any of the millions of Axies available on the platform.
Axis can be collected, bred, battled, and used to earn further assets that can be traded on the platform’s internal marketplace. According to the game developers, an Axie was once sold for a record-breaking $820,000.
The project is home to two gaming coins – Axie Infinity Shards (or AXS), and Smooth Love Potion (SLP). The former is the official native currency of the gaming ecosystem, while the latter is a reward token.
In addition to being recognized as a leader in NFT gaming, Axie Infinity is also thought to be the pioneer of play-to-earn gaming in the crypto space. In February 2024, it passed the $4bn milestone for NFT revenue.
Pros
- Considered to be the leader in GameFi
- Fun, engaging concept
Cons
- Entry cost equivalent to around $500
| Project | Axie Infinity |
| Ticker | $AXS |
| Max. Supply | 270 million |
| Blockchain Platform | Ethereum |
| Inception | 2021 |
Crypto gaming coins comparison table
| Cryptocurrency | Ticker | Launched in | Blockchain |
| Sponge | SPONGE | 2023 | Polygon |
| Decentraland | MANA | 2019 | Ethereum |
| The Sandbox | SAND | 2011 | Ethereum |
| Axie Infinity | AXS | 2018 | Ethereum |
Benefits of online crypto gaming
- Huge market potential: With the blockchain gaming industry forecast to be worth $614bn by 2028, the area is clearly fast-growing, presenting a prime opportunity for investors to participate in the relatively early stages.
- True ownership: For those more accustomed to traditional gaming, the element of true asset ownership will be a welcome departure. In-game assets purchased via the Steam, Playstation, and Nintendo stores, for instance, are purely digital and can never be truly owned.
- Entertainment: Though a more simplistic point, the fact is that the combination of gaming and blockchain technology adds a level of intrigue and engagement that can’t be matched to a simple digital currency project. With the gaming industry growing year on year, this element is likely to lead much broader audiences into the crypto space.
Risks of online crypto gaming
- Smart contracts: While highly intelligent and efficient, smart contracts are becoming more vulnerable as their complexity increases. They can be challenging to modify, with even a slight tweak potentially opening the door to exploitation by hackers.
- Highly ambitious: GameFi projects are becoming increasingly ambitious in scale and concept, with many pitching physical infrastructure projects and proprietary hardware. This will make delivery exceptionally difficult, and sometimes impossible.
- Quality: Those expecting the high-fidelity experiences of triple-A video game franchises may find themselves disappointed. Blockchain games are often low-budget and low-quality, with the primary purpose being to stimulate the economy of the native currency.
Our research methodology – why you can trust us
Our research process includes consultation with several in-house cryptocurrency and investment experts with more than a decade of combined experience. Our team created a shortlist, and we then analyzed each project, the online community sentiment, and the details about its presale and roadmap objectives. This ensures multiple aspects of a project are scrutinized when determining the likelihood of the project being considered as potentially the best gaming crypto at the current time.
FAQs
Which is the best gaming crypto?
With its combination of utility and track-record of success, our vote for the best gaming coins in 2024 goes to Memebet Token.
What are GameFi coins?
GameFi coins are the native currencies of blockchain-based video game projects. Digital currencies are typically used to purchase in-game assets and add-ons, and are often used as a reward for completing certain tasks and challenges within the game.
What is the largest gaming crypto?
With a market cap of $1.6bn and NFT revenues exceeding $4bn, Axie Infinity is one of the largest gaming coins in the crypto markets.
References
- https://www.statista.com/outlook/amo/ar-vr/worldwide#:~:text=in%20the%20world%2C%20the%20number,increase%20to%2055.9%25%20by%202028.
- https://coinmarketcap.com/coins
- https://finance.yahoo.com/news/21-8-cagr-blockchain-gaming-111000853.html#:~:text=Pune%2C%20India%2C%20Dec.,21.8%25%20during%20the%20forecast%20period.
