Uniswap Labs Acquires Crypto: The Game—’It’s Into This 24/7 Crypto Reality Show’
The second season of Crypto: The Game (CTG) sold out in 13 minutes. Thousands of fans vie for one of the 800 coveted spots the survival game is built on Base block chain. With this popularity within the cryptocurrency’s core community and growing interest from outsiders, decentralized exchanges Uniswap Labs announced today that they have acquired the game.
“We have seen CTG generate a lot of excitement, and Uniswap is focused on making the on-chain experience more human and enjoyable,” said Uniswap Labs CEO Mary-Catherine Lader. Luck. The purchase amount was not disclosed but was a combination of cash, tokens and equity.
As part of the acquisition, founders Dylan Abruscato, Tyler Cagle and Bryan Lee will join Uniswap. The companies are now jointly developing the third installment, while exploring new interactive cryptocurrency experiences for consumers. However, the game will not simply become an advertisement for Uniswap’s wallet or exchange, the companies explained in a call.
“Now that we have the full force of Uniswap Labs behind us, we think that will help us make the third season our best yet,” said Dylan Abruscato, the game’s co-founder. Luck. Abruscato’s entertainment career extends beyond cryptocurrency, as his previous gigs include serving as a producer for Saturday night live and developing mobile games that were once a hit HQ quiz.
CTG was inspired by television shows in which contestants compete against each other such as Survivor And Squid game. During the first two seasons of CTG, contestants bought with 0.1 ETH (about 367 USD), joined 8 tribes of 10 people, participated in daily challenges, and voted on each other for 10 days, for until one person wins the entire amount. A player from Japan won a prize pool greater than $150,000 in season one, with the prize pool increasing to around $250,000 in season two.
Uniswap Labs sponsored a challenge in part two, joining Adidas — which created branded sportswear for each player as a non-fungible token — and the money company Wormhole electronics, along with other partners. The funding gave Uniswap “a behind-the-scenes look at how [CTG] cracked the code to attract new users to cryptocurrency,” Lader said.
Digital tracksuit for Adidas x CTG s2
We look forward to Part 3 🔴 pic.twitter.com/PXbe0f07zQ
– Dawn (@madebydaybreak) May 15, 2024
After launching in late January, followed shortly by a second season in April, the game has established cult status in crypto circles, with speculators watching from the sidelines through X, Farcasterand even podcasts created by Web3 and cultural media outlet Boys’ Club. “My 68-year-old mother-in-law called me after listening to a podcast episode and asked if I thought Ted would buy back and play anonymously after he was voted out,” Abruscato said.
Abruscato describes this fandom as a combination of crypto enthusiasts on Twitter, venture capitalists, founders, and notable crypto influencers such as 3LAU, Packy McCormick, Jesse Pollakand Bored Elon. More importantly, however, around 10%–15% are “regulars,” in other words, people who have never participated in crypto, suggesting gaming can be an opportunity to bring in new users. Coming to decentralized finance.
While CTG could not calculate the exact number of viewers for last season’s games, Abruscato said there were 50,000 visitors to the site over a 10-day period. “It gets thrown into this 24/7 crypto reality show that has villains and drama and fan favorites, and it almost becomes this spectacle in cryptocurrency community”.
