Crypto Gaming Seems to Be Exploding During COVID-19

US-based crypto gaming company Bling has reported a significant increase in the number of people using its products since most of the world entered various stages of lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to statistics shared exclusively with Cointelegraph, Bling’s user statistics are up almost 50% over the month of March. The platform is reaching 70,000 users per day, and over 400,000 active users per month. Bling’s flagship app, Bitcoin Blast, has furthermore passed one million downloads from Google Play Store.

The COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity

Bling CEO Amy Wan told Cointelegraph that she chalks these statistics up to people being stuck at home “and bored.” Not only are there more users than before, but people are spending more time in their apps. Most of these users are located in the United States, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brazil.

Wan said that this trend has been taking place for mobile gaming in general. Most companies in this space are seeing more downloads and increased activity amid the quarantine requirements around the world.

Wan said:

“We think that this may be an opportunity for many folks who previously heard of Bitcoin but never got around to learning much about it to take that time to learn and collect some Bitcoin. Whereas many crypto companies focus on selling Bitcoin, our unique proposition is that we give it away for free through gameplay.”

She added that the current situation is both “a blessing and a curse.” Yes, Bling is seeing more users spend more time in its apps. But the company’s ad revenue has also gone down — since some advertisers are pulling their ad spend due to economic uncertainty.