Why Play-to-Earn Games Seem to Fail and Tap-to-Earn Games Are Popular Lately

Bittime - Play-to-earn (P2E) games emerged quickly but quickly faltered. The main reason for their failure was their attempt to attract gamers to the crypto world, which proved ineffective in building trust and mass adoption. The strategy has now shifted to providing a quick and easy way for crypto enthusiasts to earn crypto.

The Rise of Tap-to-Earn Games

Unlike traditional P2E models that require complex gameplay and significant time investment, Tap-to-Earn games offer a more accessible and engaging alternative. These games leverage social platforms like Telegram, where users already spend their time, creating a seamless experience that has opened the door to mass adoption, whether intended or not.

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The Hamster Kombat Phenomenon

In the past three months, Hamster Kombat, a viral clicker game on Telegram, has been watched by 210 million people. 

Other Tap-to-Earn successes include TapSwap, with 50 million users, and Yescoin, which attracted 26 million active players in less than a month. These numbers rival traditional Web2 games but are central to Telegram’s Web3 ecosystem.

 The Role of Mini Apps in Driving Adoption

Telegram Mini Apps have been a key driver in this adoption cycle, with Tap-to-Earn games being a major catalyst. While mid-core Telegram games like Gatto and fantasy sports games like Fanton show promise, their user bases are smaller compared to the leading clicker games.

Notcoin Starts the Trend

The trend started with Notcoin, which attracted over 40 million players since its launch on New Year 2024. Of those, 11.5 million became Web3 users by claiming Notcoin tokens ($NOT) after being listed on major exchanges like Binance and OKEx. The strategy was brilliant and has been copied by other viral apps like PixelTap.

Strategies for Tap-Based Game Success on Telegram

Successful strategies include starting with off-chain gameplay to reduce user friction, attracting as many players as possible through incentives and referrals, and then announcing an upcoming token airdrop. 

The Success of Yescoin and Catizen

Yescoin and Catizen introduced on-chain mechanisms early on, and time will tell how these different approaches impact user conversion and retention, especially with the upcoming launches of Hamster Kombat, TapSwap, and PixelTap tokens.

Catizen and Notcoin each boast off-chain to on-chain user conversion rates of 7% and 6.2% respectively, significantly higher than Telegram’s average of 0.6%.

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Key Factors Behind Success

The simplicity of gameplay (e.g., clicking and completing easy tasks) and entertaining game progression (e.g., daily card combinations or ciphers) have contributed to the rapid growth of Tap-to-Earn games. 

Community airdrop promises also play a significant role. Unlike DeFi or Ethereum L2 protocols, clicker applications do not require complex on-chain actions. For example, Notcoin allocates about 90% of its token supply to the community, with an average reward per wallet reaching $200.

Encouraging social interaction, where players invite friends and compete in squads for higher prizes, is another success factor. All of these viral apps have chosen the TON blockchain, which benefits from easy onboarding and a large global user base of 950 million.

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Support from Industry Leaders

Big players in Web3, such as Animoca Brands, have supported this strategy. Animoca has partnered with TON, including its gaming platform GAMEE, which has over 80 million users and recently announced a token launch on TON.

More Than Just a Game: Tap-to-Earn on Other Apps

The Tap-to-Earn model has also been adopted outside of gaming. For example, hybrid crypto exchange Blum, created by former Binance managers, started with a clicker and Quest-to-Earn mechanism, attracting 30 million users before launching its core functionality. 

This trend shows that Tap-to-Earn is seen as an effective onboarding tool and revenue source.

Future Challenges and Prospects

There are concerns about the sustainability of the Tap-to-Earn trend and the quality of traffic it generates. How teams will educate and retain users and deliver long-term value remains to be seen. 

Some plan to act as game publishers or quest platforms, while others promise to deliver e-commerce or trading products.

How to Buy Crypto with Bittime

You can buy and sell crypto assets easily and safely through Bittime. Bittime is one of the best crypto applications in Indonesia that has been officially registered with Bappebti. 

To be able to buy crypto assets on Bittime, make sure you have registered and completed your identity verification. Also, make sure you have sufficient balance by depositing some funds into your wallet. Just so you know, the minimum asset purchase on Bittime is IDR 10,000. After that, you can make crypto asset purchases in the application. 

Monitor the price chart movements of Bitcoin (BTC) , Ethereum (ETH) , Solana (SOL) and other cryptos to find out today's crypto market trends in real-time on Bittime.