Cryptocurrency: How Hamster Kombat, a game created in Russia, won over 250 million users in three months
Before Iran, Uzbekistan had warned its citizens about the risk of scams, while Ukraine was concerned about the use that would be made of the data collected by the Russians, creators of Telegram and the game Hamster Kombat, in a war context.
Already more than 250 million users in less than four months. Launched on March 25 on the Russian encrypted messaging service Telegram , the game Hamster Kombat is experiencing phenomenal growth according to Pavel Durov, head of Telegram.
A lightning growth that has pushed several countries, like Iran, to warn their populations against the dangers of this game called “tap to earn” and in which players must frantically tap their screen to accumulate coins that can then be used to buy improvements, such as increasing their hourly profit (number of virtual coins obtained) in particular.
The goal is therefore to collect as many coins (cryptocurrencies) as possible and invest them wisely to build a financial empire and hope to convert the winnings into money in real life.
Warnings in Iran, Uzbekistan and Ukraine
Before Iran, Uzbekistan had warned its citizens about the risk of scams, while Ukraine was concerned about the use that would be made of the data collected by the Russians, creators of Telegram and the game Hamster Kombat, in a war context.
Contacted by 20 Minutes , Sylvain Aig, author of a video on the subject published on his YouTube channel Objectif Lune Crypto, explains that ” this type of game allows Telegram to recruit new users “. This game can therefore be a gateway for new users to install Telegram and use TON and toncoin, a cryptocurrency. ” Telegram is no longer simply a messaging service, it is more than 800 applications. For regulatory reasons, they will never say that they are behind the game, but we know perfectly well that they are not far away “, assures Sylvain Aig to our colleagues.
The hope of converting cryptocurrency into real money
So, game users start with a Telegram mini-app, which allows them to invite other people to tap on their mobile screens to collect coins and advertise them on their social networks. The game’s creator aims to list these coins on cryptocurrency exchanges.
The goal is to make the game known to as many people as possible. The only way for it to survive is to ensure that its community continues to grow over time. However, only a few, among the 250 million players, will actually convert their winnings and money. These will be the first users and especially the most assiduous, ready to tap daily for hours on the animal in the center of their smartphone screen.
Once paid by the application, the tokens (Telegram cryptocurrency) can then be resold for money. Since the creation of the game, the payment has not yet taken place but it has been announced by the creators by the end of July.
“People are already speculating on the price of tokens that haven’t even been released yet and on platforms that allow them to be bought in advance ,” Yoan Grandjacques, content creator and cryptocurrency specialist.
Before Hamster Kombat, several games involving cryptocurrency had paid the price of this speculation, such as Axie Infinity’s AXS which is worth $5 today compared to $150 in 2021.
