Crypto: The Game
Onchain survival game with a winner-take-all prize.
| Date | Investors | Amount | Round |
|---|---|---|---|
* | N/A | Acquisition | |
| Total Funding | 000k | ||
Crypto: The Game is a browser-based interactive survival game that integrates blockchain mechanics with multiplayer elimination challenges, often compared to reality shows like Survivor and Squid Game. It was founded in January 2024 by Dylan Abruscato, Tyler Cagle, and Bryan Lee. The co-founders previously worked together at a tech startup; Abruscato has a background in partnerships and marketing from roles at HQ Trivia, Uber, and Postmates, while Lee specializes in back-end development and Cagle focuses on front-end engineering and design.
The business model is centered on a play-to-earn system where participants pay an entry fee, typically 0.1 ETH, to join the game. These fees accumulate into a winner-take-all prize pool for the single remaining contestant. The game operates in seasons, each lasting ten days. Players are assigned to tribes and compete in daily challenges such as arcade games, digital scavenger hunts, and crypto puzzles. Winning a challenge grants a tribe immunity, while losing tribes must vote to eliminate one of their members. Midway through the game, tribes merge, and the competition becomes individual. A jury of previously eliminated contestants votes to determine the ultimate winner. The use of NFTs for entry also introduces a secondary market dynamic, allowing players to sell their spot in the game.
In June 2024, the project was acquired by Uniswap Labs in a deal involving cash, tokens, and equity, with the founding team joining Uniswap to continue development on the game and other onchain experiments. The game has attracted brand integrations from companies like Adidas and sponsorships from crypto-native firms such as Uniswap, Lens, and Wormhole. It has received media attention and was submitted for consideration for an Emmy Award in the Outstanding Emerging Media Program category.
Keywords: crypto game, blockchain game, play-to-earn, P2E, survival game, onchain gaming, NFT game, multiplayer elimination, decentralized finance, Uniswap, Dylan Abruscato, reality game show, digital scavenger hunt, crypto puzzles, player-versus-player, web3 gaming, ETH prize pool, blockchain competition, interactive game, social strategy game