It’s nothing new for crypto games to be derided as “Ponzi schemes”—but some players are using the tag as a positive after a new crypto-earning game quickly surged and then cooled just as rapidly. And they’re looking for the next promising “Ponzi game” to jump into.
Abstract-based crypto mining simulation game Bigcoin caught the attention of traders last week, with the token price rising as more and more players bought in and started earning crypto rewards.
But after its token crashed 83% on Saturday, according to DEX Screener—and remains down substantially from last week’s peak—some players that enjoyed the wild Bigcoin ride are looking for the next potential “Ponzi” winner.
Bigcoin has a fairly simple concept, where players buy in-game miners that earn them BIG tokens on Ethereum layer-2 network Abstract—akin to how real-world Bitcoin miners work. The goal is to constantly earn BIG, and then use the tokens to upgrade your in-game setup so you earn more.
But many industry observers believed that the game purely works on “Ponzinomics,” with players only earning rewards due to new players flowing capital into the game. But that isn’t necessarily being seen as a bad thing. If anything, it’s what attracted so many players in such a short span of time.
“Ponzi games are the best games. Liquidity and attention has proven this for years at this point,” founder of crypto investment platform Nexus, Jonny, wrote on X. “Sad, but degenerate and fun at the same time.”
Pudgy Penguins founder Cole Thereum called Bigcoin the “most fun [he] had on-chain in a while.” Almost immediately after Bigcoin’s token cratered, people were looking for the next “Ponzi game” to enjoy.
But why are some crypto users eager for risky games with a potentially short shelf life, rather than looking for richer gameplay experiences?
“Bigcoin is super simple and it’s easy to calculate how much you need to put in order to get a certain amount back. The math adds up as long as the token price remains stable,” crypto gaming content creator Inspector told Decrypt. “The premise is that you can calculate clear rewards. [It] adds a whole new layer of fun for most. That’s why I joined this industry.”
This may be a response to the play-to-airdrop and tap-to-earn models that dominated crypto gaming last year. Under these models, players would spend days, weeks, and months grinding in a game, not knowing how well they’d be rewarded once the airdrop came around.
As a result, while games may be able to maintain hype and momentum for a longer period than Bigcoin, players were often left dissatisfied with what they receive in the airdrop—such as Hamster Kombat players calling their reward “dust,” or Catizen players grumbling about unclear criteria and last-minute changes.
While Bigcoin’s model appears unsustainable to those entering—particularly amid wide token price swings—at least it’s honest about how much they can earn. And it comes at a time in which most gaming tokens have been falling hard, dampening the vibes of crypto game enthusiasts.
“Add on top of that the gaming tokens going down 70-80% post-[token launch] and you get a recipe for people craving Ponzi schemes just to feel something again,” Inspector added.
Interestingly, Bigcoin appeared to capture the attention of crypto degens who aren’t typically into gaming. This could be the result of the current market conditions across the industry, as major tokens like Mantra crash and meme coins (mostly) aren’t pumping like they did earlier this year. Some traders may feel like there are fewer reliable ways to win in the current crypto “casino.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures, for sure, but I think it is more than that,” crypto gaming content creator Daniel Droege told Decrypt. “People are starting to wake up to insiders and [venture capitalists] dumping on them.”
This has led to crypto gamers looking for the next “Ponzi game” to play, as the price of Bigcoin’s token remains well down from last week’s peak. Some X threads point players to play-to-earn games like Axie Infinity and Pixels, while others have set out to make a self-admitted Ponzi game—such as Minereum, which is branded as “what Bigcoin was meant to be.”
“I think crypto loves the new shiny object, and price-go-up is the best marketing,” pseudonymous content creator and Gaming Daily founder Iceyyyt told Decrypt. “Personally, as a Web3 gaming enthusiast, I’m looking for projects that can prove that staying power and sustainability—games that can grow their player base, innovate on their design, and push the space forward.”
Bigcoin is not dead, to be clear, even if the price has fallen substantially and the associated buzz has cooled. Creator Satoshi Bigmoto—a reference to pseudonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto—wrote on X Wednesday that game updates are still in the works.
While Bigcoin’s initial surge was short-lived, it leaves some lingering questions. Is this model going to push the crypto gaming industry forward? Will Ponzi games be the paradigm shift that onboards Web2 users, or is it yet another short-term diversion for traders seeking the next big gain?
“People considered Axie a ponzi when it came out, but it onboarded millions to crypto,” Inspector explained. “Bigcoin won’t replicate that success, but it is a formula that works.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward