Portal introduces PortalPay to lower barriers to blockchain gaming

Portal, a leading blockchain gaming platform, has launched its new service PortalPay. The service is designed to lower the barriers to entry for blockchain gaming by providing users with an interoperability solution for paying and cashing out in-game assets using any of the 5,000 supported digital assets.

Problem of ecosystem fragmentation in blockchain gaming sector

To access the on-chain features of a blockchain game, users typically need to connect a MetaMask wallet or other service that allows them to interact with decentralized applications and purchase non-fungible tokens (NFTs) needed to play the game. Many gaming tokens are also specific to certain blockchains and have yet to be migrated to other chains.

Ezra Strauss, Head of Partnerships at Portal, highlighted the issue of ecosystem fragmentation in the blockchain gaming sector: “A big problem we’ve seen is that there are many different chains and wallets, resulting in siloed ecosystems. Users, tokens, and assets are locked into these different pockets of the Web3 ecosystem, which makes adoption by new users very difficult.”

Currently, Web3 gamers can circumvent these issues by bridging or converting digital assets to the required currency for a particular game. However, the network costs of bridging and converting can be prohibitive.

Increasing user acceptance

In addition to increasing user adoption, PortalPay takes on the burden of providing on-chain solutions, allowing developers to focus on creating blockchain games with an emphasis on gameplay quality rather than on-chain trading.

Portal also aims to increase user retention by removing the technical aspects of Web3 onboarding and providing a streamlined user interface. “The value we create is that you don’t have to think about the infrastructure level,” Strauss said.

Blockchain gaming still far from mainstream acceptance

Although the sector is growing, blockchain gaming is still far from mainstream adoption. A recent survey by OnePoll found that 52% of the 2,000 adults surveyed were unaware of the Web3 gaming sector. Another 32% said they knew what blockchain games were but had never played one.

Regulatory challenges also pose an issue, with financial regulators scrutinizing the financial aspect of gaming tokens. In September 2023, Shrapnel developers announced that players in the United States would be unable to cash out of the game due to fears of regulatory retaliation from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In Uzbekistan, officials also took a similar stance toward the popular Hamster Kombat game on The Open Network. They explained that the country would not ban the game, but warned users against withdrawing and trading the in-game currency.