Transak: Fueling Blockchain Gaming in SEA, APAC, and Beyond

Despite unfavorable market conditions, 2023 witnessed a substantial surge in networks targeting web3 gaming. In 2023, nearly $1.8 billion was raised by web3 projects, of which close to $800 million was exclusively dedicated to web3 gaming.

According to research by GAME7, the APAC region emerged as the top location for gaming development with a 49% share followed by North America, EMEA, and LATAM respectively.

In a report by DappRadar, there are over 1.1 million unique active wallets in top web3 games. The respondents also believe that at least 20% of the gaming industry will adopt blockchain within 12 months. Naturally, blockchain must become an integral component of the gaming industry as a whole. It’s noteworthy that most gaming platforms already accept cryptocurrency as a payment method.

However, this report also mentions that 70% of the respondents misconceive blockchain gaming as a scam while 46.4% associate crypto with dark web. 55.1% of respondents believe that ‘onboarding’ poses a critical challenge in the mass adoption of web3 gaming. Over a third of the respondents also emphasize user acquisition to be a challenge that needs immediate attention.

Despite these mixed observations based on various reports, the web3 gaming trend is on the rise. There have been improvements in accessibility, such as implementing free-to-own and free-to-play models and making the blockchain elements optional. However, problems with onboarding more gamers, especially in the blockchain domain persist.

Transak is a complete payment stack offering gamers a seamless experience when onboarding the gaming wagon. Transak recognizes these core challenges and has come up with a complete payment stack for the smooth onboarding of gamers onto web3.

• Onboarding: Transak can streamline the onboarding process by providing a rapid and intuitive fiat-to-crypto conversion gateway.
• Misconception of blockchain gaming as a scam: Transak’s multi-level KYC solution for users and a robust KYB process greatly increases the likelihood that all parties are operating within the bounds of the law.
• User acquisition: Transak has a multi-million user global base. Web3 games that integrate Transak’s suite of products automatically simplify the onboarding process for pre-existing users.

The South-East Asian gaming market is expected to cross $19 billion by 2029 with significant growth in other regions as well. Consequently, a big chunk of this share would flow to games built on blockchains or use on-chain assets of some sort. To capitalize on this growing market, the real test is going to be the efficiency of the platform to onboard gamers quickly and offer easy NFT-based purchases.

Let’s dive deep into how Transak is empowering gaming users across SEA, APAC, and the USA by making web3 accessible.

On- and Off-Ramp Solutions

According to the GAME7 report, out of the total games with an on-ramp integration;

• 5% of the total games are fully on-chain,
• 12% are hybrid, and
• 83% have on-chain assets.

To smoothen the transactions and overall onboarding, Transak offers both on-ramp and off-ramp for a web2-like onboarding experience in SEA, APAC, and the USA.

Thus, Transak’s on-ramp solution enables converting fiat money into cryptocurrencies, and its off-ramp solution helps crypto users exchange their in-game tokens for fiat currencies.

The swift onboarding is also attributed to the fact that Transak provides coverage for on-ramp solutions for 177+ countries and the Off-Ramp solutions support over 40+ crypto assets in over 145 countries.

For off-ramp solutions, Transak enables direct transferring of fiat to banks and charges only 1% per transaction.

Our strategic collaboration with Visa for fast card withdrawals through Visa Direct will help in transactions and fiat conversions related to crypto gaming.

NFT Checkout for Games

According to a report, NFT-related gaming generated a revenue of $3,64 billion. This number is expected to grow at a CAGR of 33.5% through 2027 to cross $15.46 billion. Also, about 20% of the total revenue on in-game purchases is expected to go to NFT-based purchases by 2026.

The essence of web3 gaming especially in RPG and AAA, like MotoGP, or card games, like Splinterlands, lies in the ability to buy and sell in-game assets quickly and efficiently in the form of NFTs. Transak’s NFT Checkout allows gaming enthusiasts to buy NFTs with credit/debit cards, Apple or Google Pay.

Transak has always been upgrading its services to accommodate large-scale web3 gaming adoption. Its latest feature in Transak NFT Checkout enables users to sell multiple NFTs in a single transaction. Users can sell NFTs for as low as $0.01 — the lowest in the industry! This wide range of purchase-window ensures that gamers with smaller budgets are also able to participate.

The flexibility in transactions and the diversity in payment methods is particularly advantageous for web3 games to enter into untapped markets like Thailand, Philippines, Nigeria, and India.

Fiat-to-Smart Contract Solution

34.2% of respondents in a report by BGA asserted that web3 gaming adoption is hindered massively by “concepts not fully understood”.

Complexity in the execution of functions related to crypto wallets and smart contracts is a major turn-off for web3 gamers. Transak aims to tackle this issue through Transak One.

Transak One is a direct-to-protocol fiat on-ramp solution that hides the blockchain complexity from the user and condenses the multi-step process of interacting with a smart contract to just a single click.

KYC-compliant users can enter their wallet address and pay by credit/debit card, Apple Pay, bank transfer, or local payment method. whenever they want to on-ramp to a supported web3 game.

Transak One hides the complexity of smart contract interactions. It also combines and performs all of the required transactions including the transfer of crypto while initiating and interacting with the Web3 gaming protocol smart contracts on behalf of the user.

Transak can be integrated into any website or application for users to on-ramp directly to supported web3 gaming platforms.

Regulation Compliance and 30-Second KYC

The number of gamers is expected to reach 1.5 billion by 2027 according to research. To onboard more of these gamers to a platform is going to be its ability to quickly onboard them.

A robust KYC process is a prerequisite for any crypto platform wanting to conduct business in any region. However, lengthy KYC hinders the pace of onboarding the gamers. To counter this challenge, Transak has come up with Lite KYC. This level of verification, in the border multi-level KYC of Transak, is a 30-second KYC process to onboard both users for smaller transactions as well as gamers.

Transak is also registered as a crypto asset platform with the UK’s FCA and recognized as a VASP in Poland. These affiliations ensure that Transak remains secure while being efficient.

Strategic Partnerships

Transak’s strategic partnerships with major web3 gaming platforms, including Immutable and SKALE Labs, create a robust ecosystem for gamers worldwide.

Transak’s partnership with Immutable, which has emerged as the most popular L2 gaming ecosystem, followed by Arbitrum, is bringing a new wave of excitement in the web3 gaming space.

With such strategic allies, Transak aims to address issues about web3 gaming adoption including unpredictable gas fees and the challenges of seamless entry into digital assets.

Apart from supporting over 75+ blockchains including Polygon and Ethereum, Transak is trusted by 350+ web3 brands which is a hallmark for its robustness of onboarding solution.

Conclusion

Despite facing significant hurdles such as misconceptions of blockchain gaming as scams, the complexity of onboarding new users, and a general association of crypto with nefarious activities, the web3 gaming sector has experienced considerable growth and investment, particularly in the APAC region which leads in gaming development.

The BGA report predicts that in 2024, with seamless integration and web2 studios joining the bandwagon of web3 gaming, the boundaries between web2 and web3 games will blur.

Transak's suite of solutions and strategic initiatives are crucial for advancing the adoption of web3 gaming. By reducing barriers to entry, establishing trust, and simplifying the transition to blockchain-based gaming, we are addressing current challenges and paving the way for a more inclusive and expansive future in the web3 gaming space.