That’s right, you’re not dreaming in the metaverse right now. This is a real thing. Niantic, the company behind Pokemon Go, teamed up with crypto debit card company Fold to create an AR game where you can earn Bitcoin.
Dubbed Fold AR, the game is similar to Pokemon Go, but you interact with crypto references and break ‘cubes of binary code’ to earn cryptocurrency. When you get Bitcoin, it’s in small units called Satoshis, which is exactly 0.00000001 Bitcoin or about RM0.0024.
The prizes spawn every 10 minutes between 1 to 50 feet away from the player. This timing reflects how long it takes to mine a Bitcoin in real life. With prizes as low as RM0.0024, what purpose does this game serve?
Fold CEO Will Reeves says that the goal of Fold AR is to make virtual currencies feel real by placing them in the real world. Making an AR game definitely makes it more approachable than daunting cryptotrading apps. I can also see the utility in providing education and curiosity about the Blockchain and cryptocurrency.
The game also includes try-hard boomer humour like ‘REKD’ and ‘Shit Coin’ which I’m sure the team thinks is quite funny, but comes across as trying to pander to zoomers.
Early next year, Fold wants to launch other features including “a geocaching-like multiplayer system that lets you hide Bitcoin for friends to find, as well as some form of non-fungible token, or NFT, system based on Bitcoin.”
The game is rolling out right now under the Fold app, but that app is not available in Malaysia.
[ SOURCE ]