Before April 2023, Paul had never bought Bitcoin or even heard of an NFT. Less than a year later, his NFT trading winnings had earned him almost 17 times the yearly minimum income in his native Colombia (around $3,100 per year), allowing him to purchase his first house. He’s not the only one either. In underdeveloped nations throughout the globe, NFTs are providing a great source of revenue.
NFTs Transforming the Reality
Non-fungible tokens are distinct, non-interchangeable tokens that represent digital property held on-chain. NFTs have grown in popularity in recent years, with individual tokens from well-known artists and singers fetching hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. Here are some of the top Filipino NFT projects to watch out for in 2024:
- Abante Babae NFT Collection — An NFT collection featuring artworks by prominent Filipina NFT artists, representing women’s empowerment and Filipino culture.
- Filipinas NFT — A community-driven project aiming to empower women in the Philippine NFT space through events, partnerships, and skill development.
- Vention App — The Philippines’ first NFT marketplace built on the Binance Smart Chain, focused on showcasing Filipino art and culture.
As Paul’s example reveals, this new technology benefits more than simply superstars. Ordinary people can benefit from it if they buy and sell NFT smartly.
Investment in Sorare
Paul, also known as “Gocka” on Twitter, specializes in the Global Fantasy Football NFT trading card game. In this game (Sorare), players come together and build teams to compete against one another. Paul began in April with a $80 euro investment in Sorare. He was worried since it was a large amount for him at the moment. “It is critical to understand that I am cautious,” said Paul. “I do not accept financial risks. I only buy things that are valuable.”
Learning the Market
Initially, Paul was shocked at the sky-high prices that so many cards fetched. “An unknown goalie from Belgium for thirty euros? Who’ll buy that card?” he wondered. But after giving himself some time to research the market, Paul realized that he had a talent for identifying good deals. After winning some money on a few successful trades, he decided to take Sorare seriously and finance more. By August, he was continually trading, and others were giving him money to handle their accounts as well.
Then, in January, Paul decided to sell his gallery and cash out for 42 Ethereum. In only a few months, he had turned a $5k investment into almost $65k in gross profit. He claims that if he had waited until February, his gallery would have been worth more than 150 ETH, but he does not regret withdrawing the money when he did since it allowed him to go on vacation and purchase a home. As of now, Paul has rebuilt his Sorare collection. Paul intends to quit his current employment in the near future. “[Sorare] can really be full-time work if eager people are ready to enter the market,” he said.
Axie Infinity
In the Philippines, Axie Infinity, an ETH-based collecting monster game, has a loyal following of gamers who farm the game to supplement their income. “For context, the minimum wage here is a little over $200 per month,” said Gabby Dizon, an Axie community member from the Philippines who co-founded Yield Guild, an in-game guild dedicated to teaching people how to farm “play-to-earn” games. “It’s not a high amount, but for the people here, being able to earn maybe $300, $400 is basically life-saving for them.”
According to DappRadar statistics, Axie Infinity is the most popular Ethereum game, with over 23k active players in the last month (as assessed by the number of unique wallet addresses interacting with the app). Dizon thinks that over 80% of these players reside in developing nations such as the Philippines, Indonesia, and Latin America.
Real Impact
Covid lockdowns had a significant impact on Axie’s popularity in the Philippines. “A lot of people were laid off, blocked at home, no work, getting hungry,” Dizon added. “Then word started getting around that there was this game you could download and play and actually turn it into real money.”
It seems too good to be true, so Yield Guild launched a Facebook campaign encouraging its users to post the outcomes of their Axie earnings with the hashtag #salamataxie. In Filipino, “Salamat” means “thank you.” People started to share pictures of mothers providing for their baby’s needs, men who bought a motorcycle, families getting together, house renovations, and sons and daughters buying gifts for their parents.
SLP market price changes may also have an impact on profit, prompting some players to stack their SLP until the price reaches a high point before selling. The long-term feasibility of axie farming remains to be established post-pandemic, but in a troubled economy, any type of potential income may be a game changer, particularly if it can be generated from the comfort of one’s own home. At the moment, NFTs hold such potential.
