Gaming tokens have seemingly been on the sidelines for the reason that 2021 crypto growth. In actual fact, knowledge from SoSoValue reveals that they have been the worst-performing crypto basket during the last 12-month interval, enduring a 62% drop within the interval, in comparison with a 174% rise on PayFi tokens.
Nonetheless, beneath the Trump administration’s crypto-friendly stance, it could be altering.
Gala Games—a blockchain-based gaming platform—says it grew to become the primary crypto gaming firm to accomplice with the White House, bringing a Web3 recreation Easter Egg Hunt to the 2025 Easter Egg Roll. White House official X’s account additionally talked about on the social media platform in regards to the tie-up amid a plethora of different collaborations with tech giants.
The GALA token has risen roughly 18% for the reason that announcement, GameFi tokens went up 13%, and the broader crypto market, as measured by the CoinDesk 20 (CD20) index, rose 8%.
Consumer engagement
The trouble aimed to introduce blockchain to households with out overwhelming them.
The sport, hosted at easter.gala.video games, supplied a “free and simple” expertise the place gamers collected digital eggs to win distinctive non-fungible tokens (NFTs) saved on GalaChain, Gala’s proprietary Layer 1 blockchain, the corporate mentioned in an announcement shared with CoinDesk.
Gamers have been in a position to log in, discover, and accumulate eggs while not having a crypto pockets expertise, Gala Games mentioned. Each NFT reward was saved on GalaChain, hinting at future use throughout Gala’s leisure tasks, together with Gala Music and Gala Movie.
The Web3 gaming agency informed CoinDesk that over 300,000 video games have been performed for the reason that occasion launched, with about 100,000 new accounts created. Roughly 17% of individuals went on to discover Gala’s different tasks, suggesting actual person engagement past the Easter occasion.
The venture, based in 2019 by Zynga co-founder Eric Schiermeyer, has been laying the groundwork for broader adoption via partnerships with DreamWorks Animation, NBCUniversal, and collaborations with artists like Snoop Dogg. Earlier this month, Gala Movie introduced a partnership with LG Electronics to deliver Web3 leisure to TVs, and the corporate hinted it’s working with a authorities company on transparency efforts.
Trade response
The Easter recreation marks a real-world check for the venture and the broader GameFi sector.
When requested in regards to the lead-up to the occasion, Schiermeyer shared that the venture has been specializing in the high-level tie-up. “We have a team dedicated to government outreach,” they mentioned. “I also spent time at Mar-a-Lago and spoke with the President. But mainly we wanted to help make the event more fun, and I think that sentiment was well received.”
Trade reactions have been combined. Some praised the visibility, whereas others identified that extra work is required for the mass adoption of the GameFi business.
Jack O’Holleran, CEO of SKALE Labs, informed CoinDesk that GameFi has by no means stopped increasing, however its situation has been visibility as a substitute. The know-how, on prime of that, has matured. “In the past, you needed to manage your own crypto wallets and pay high gas fees just to play,” he mentioned. “Now, gas-free blockchains and seamless onboarding remove those barriers.”
“Functional values and utility that blockchain brings to gaming cannot be suppressed for much longer,” he added.
Still, a broader adoption of the GameFi sector will require further meaningful collaboration with mainstream gaming outlets. This could potentially open the “floodgates,” O’Holleran added, as player bases for the traditional gaming sector are far beyond the crypto sector’s user count. If so, the “floodgates will be open.”
In the meantime, Mitja Goroshevsky, co-founder of Gosh, praised the visibility of Gala Games and the GameFi sector through the White House tie-up however warned that the business should nonetheless resolve its id disaster.
“It’s caught between being about gaming and being about trading,” he mentioned.
“Until blockchain games introduce fundamentally new experiences, government partnerships alone won’t drive mass adoption.”
