Axie Infinity’s play-to-earn ‘scheme’ alarms Phillippine National Police

Playing crypto games can be riskier than investing in cryptocurrencies, according to the Filipino ACG, considering the ease with which gamers can lose their digital tokens and NFTs.

The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP ACG) scrutinized some of the models used by cryptocurrency games, warning Filipino citizens against the various schemes used to extort money from the gaming community.

While warning against the risks of cryptocurrency gaming schemes, the Phillippine police highlighted the play-to-earn model used by Axie Infinity, a Pokemon-inspired play-to-earn metaverse game created on the Ethereum blockchain.

A player needs to purchase at least Axie characters to start playing the game, which PNP believes forces users to shell out $300 before they can start earning. On the other hand, the police department sided with the traditional gaming industry, which averages up to $100 per user.

Playing crypto games can be riskier than investing in cryptocurrencies, according to the Filipino ACG, considering the ease with which gamers can lose their digital tokens and nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

From sending tokens to an unsupported wallet address to market volatility and online scammers, the crypto gaming community is under constant threat of losing their investments. The warning read:

“Just because a game’s underlying blockchain is secure does not mean its engine or marketplace is secure.”

The recommendation from the PNP ACG resonates with the best practices tied to crypto investments. Users are advised to conduct thorough research on ecosystems and founders — do your own research (DYOR) — before investing in cryptocurrencies and being cautious when interacting with unknown individuals and phishing links.

Related: The Philippines delays publishing crypto framework

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) of the Philippines recently got into a partnership with the Blockchain Council of the Philippines (BCP) to expedite Web3 adoption in the region.

“We have seen the rise of innovative blockchain in startups, the success of blockchain-based business solutions and the birth of the initiative that makes blockchain for public good,” said DICT Director Emmy Lou Versoza-Delfin during the announcement.