《倉鼠快打》空投讓數千名用戶感到悲傷，但這種情況並不新鮮

Web3 遊戲的出現引起了人們對透過相當簡單的操作賺取加密貨幣的巨大興趣。 Play-to-earn（P2E）遊戲成為一種新類型，用戶可以透過活動賺取加密貨幣和 NFT。

People have always dreamed of getting rich quick by playing games, exercising, or tapping a screen, but these schemes often end in disappointment.

人們一直夢想著透過玩遊戲、鍛鍊身體、敲擊螢幕來快速致富，但這些計畫往往以失望告終。

The Hamster Kombat airdrop left thousands, if not millions, of users feeling cheated. However, this scenario is not new in the crypto community. Several mechanics that supposedly allow users to earn money for simple actions have risen and fallen rapidly. What lessons can we learn from these experiences?

《倉鼠快打》空投讓數千甚至數百萬用戶感到被騙了。然而，這種情況在加密社群並不新鮮。一些據稱允許用戶透過簡單操作賺錢的機制已經迅速興起和衰落。我們可以從這些經驗中學到什麼？

The emergence of web3 games sparked massive interest in earning cryptocurrency through simple actions. Play-to-earn (P2E) games became a new genre where users could earn cryptocurrency and NFTs by performing activities within the game.

Web3 遊戲的出現引發了人們對透過簡單操作賺取加密貨幣的巨大興趣。 Play-to-earn (P2E) 遊戲成為一種新類型，用戶可以透過在遊戲中進行活動來賺取加密貨幣和 NFT。

Axie Infinity was a pioneer in this space. To start the game, users needed initial capital to purchase Axie, a virtual NFT pet. By completing tasks, engaging in battles with other players, and advancing through levels in the game, users could earn tokens. These tokens could then be exchanged for other digital or fiat currencies, while items could be sold on crypto exchanges and NFT marketplaces.

Axie Infinity 是該領域的先驅。要開始遊戲，用戶需要初始資金來購買虛擬 NFT 寵物 Axie。透過完成任務、與其他玩家進行戰鬥以及在遊戲中晉級，用戶可以獲得代幣。然後，這些代幣可以兌換成其他數位或法定貨幣，而物品則可以在加密貨幣交易所和 NFT 市場上出售。

And being a pioneer, the game was—no joke—considered an option for real earnings for a long time. It became especially popular in the Philippines. In 2020, as the world grappled with a pandemic, borders closed, and people lost their jobs, enterprising Filipino crypto enthusiasts began forming guilds, offering ordinary users the chance to earn money on P2E games.

作為先驅，這款遊戲（不是開玩笑）很長一段時間都被認為是獲得實際收入的選擇。它在菲律賓特別受歡迎。 2020 年，當世界陷入新冠疫情、邊境關閉、人們失業之際，富有進取心的菲律賓加密貨幣愛好者開始組建公會，為普通用戶提供透過 P2E 遊戲賺錢的機會。

However, Axie Infinity was plagued by in-game inflation. As a result of its constant growth, the price of its utility token, Smooth Love Potion (SLP), began to decline. To maintain high demand for SLP and AXS (the governance token), an infinite number of new registrations, including players who have neither one nor the other, are needed.

然而，《Axie Infinity》受到遊戲內通貨膨脹的困擾。由於其持續增長，其實用代幣 Smooth Love Potion (SLP) 的價格開始下降。為了維持對 SLP 和 AXS（治理代幣）的高需求，需要無限數量的新註冊，包括既沒有其中一種也沒有另一種的玩家。

If the number of monthly active users (MAU) was more than 2.7 million at the peak, then in July 2024, this number was just over 310,000. The decline in Axie Infinity indicators occurred during the correction period of the entire digital asset market after Bitcoin (BTC) reached its previous all-time high (ATH) on Nov. 10, 2021.

如果說高峰時的月活躍用戶數 (MAU) 超過 270 萬，那麼到 2024 年 7 月，這個數字剛好超過 31 萬。 Axie Infinity 指標的下跌發生在比特幣（BTC）於 2021 年 11 月 10 日觸及歷史新高（ATH）後整個數位資產市場的調整期間。

The large-scale hacking of the game in March 2022 played an essential role in its decline in popularity. The outflow and lack of new users led to the fact that existing users could no longer earn money. The stories of some platform users turned out to be even sadder. In an attempt to make money on investments in the game, some players got into debt. They failed to make money on the project.

2022年3月該遊戲的大規模駭客攻擊對其人氣下降起到了至關重要的作用。新用戶的流出和缺乏導致現有用戶無法再賺錢。有些平台使用者的故事甚至更令人悲傷。為了透過遊戲投資賺錢，有些玩家負債累累。他們沒能在這個專案上賺錢。

With the P2E games era fading, a new type of earnings with the move-to-earn mechanics entered the web3 arena. The most famous example of such a game is STEPN.

隨著 P2E 遊戲時代的消逝，採用行動賺錢機制的新型獲利方式進入了 web3 領域。這類遊戲最著名的例子是STEPN。

However, its profitability fell significantly due to an influx of users, and some experts found signs of a financial pyramid in the STEPN mechanics themselves.

然而，由於用戶湧入，其獲利能力大幅下降，一些專家在STEPN機製本身中發現了金融金字塔的跡象。

At the same time, suspicions about the project do not change the fact that the platform’s early players actually managed to make good money. Users could recoup their investments, while the losses significantly exceeded the earnings for those who joined at the hype stage.

與此同時，對該計畫的懷疑並沒有改變該平台的早期參與者實際上賺了很多錢的事實。用戶可以收回投資，而損失則大大超過那些在炒作階段加入的人的收入。

Why did a game aimed at instilling healthy habits fail? The cost maintenance mechanisms laid down by the project’s team did not justify themselves. STEPN was ruined by its popularity: instead of using in-game tokens, Green Satoshi Token (GST), users actively converted them to tradable tokens, Green Metaverse Token (GMT), in the hope of further growth, especially after the rally in the spring of 2022, when the token reached an ATH of $4.11.

為什麼一款旨在灌輸健康習慣的遊戲會失敗？專案團隊所製定的成本維持機制並不能證明其合理性。 STEPN 因其受歡迎程度而被摧毀：用戶不再使用遊戲內代幣Green Satoshi Token (GST)，而是主動將其轉換為可交易代幣Green Metaverse Token (GMT)，以期進一步增長，尤其是在股市反彈後。

According to Dune, the project also had a significant decrease in MAU — in May 2022, this figure was more than 705,000, then in September 2024, it was already less than 19,000.

據 Dune 稱，該項目的 MAU 也大幅下降——2022 年 5 月，這一數字超過 705,000，而到 2024 年 9 月，該數字已不足 19,000。

The project’s creators on the official website state that the play-to-earn format can be seen as an element of a Ponzi scheme, but STEPN has nothing in common with it. According to them, the developers have built strong tokenomics into the platform, ensuring the project’s coin value stability.

該計畫的創建者在官方網站上表示，邊玩邊賺的模式可以被視為龐氏騙局的一個要素，但 STEPN 與之沒有任何共同點。據他們稱，開發人員已在平台中建立了強大的代幣經濟學，確保了專案的幣值穩定性。

However, in essence, STEPN had no real economy and lived off the money of new users who bought virtual objects for thousands of dollars in the hope of getting their investment back in a couple of months while doing imaginary, useless work.

然而，從本質上講，S​​TEPN 沒有實體經濟，靠新用戶的錢生活，這些新用戶花費數千美元購買虛擬物品，希望在幾個月內收回投資，同時做一些虛構的、無用的工作。

To maintain the necessary audience activity, a steady influx of new players who would buy game currency and NFT artifacts from old players is required. With a massive influx of new participants, such projects are possible. However, the principle of profit distribution in do-to-earn

為了維持必要的受眾活躍度，需要有穩定的新玩家湧入，他們會從老玩家那裡購買遊戲幣和 NFT 文物。隨著大量新參與者的湧入，此類項目成為可能。然而，幹到賺的利潤分配原則