Trump Rolls Dice on Crypto Monopoly 🎲
US President Donald Trump's jumped into crypto gaming with a Monopoly-style blockchain game.
Plummeting user numbers and skyrocketing acquisition costs have left most crypto game developers struggling.
But when you've got 100 million followers and the presidential seal, do market realities even matter?
Is the president about to ‘Make Gaming Great Again,’ or is this just another Trump-branded cash grab?
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🎺 The Entrance
Trump just can't get enough of crypto these days and has now dropped his latest blockchain venture. A Monopoly-styled real estate video game set to launch in late April.
It's basically MONOPOLY GO! with a Trump twist, letting players earn in-game tokens while building their own digital cities and properties, sources tell Fortune.
The mastermind behind this project? Bill Zanker – the same dude who helped Trump launch his previous NFT collections and has been a key player in the President’s crypto ventures.
It adds to Trump's growing crypto portfolio.
Trump NFT collections ✅
TRUMP token (with $1.5B market cap) ✅
World Liberty Financial (DeFi project) ✅
Bitcoin mining company (co-owned by his sons) ✅
Trump-branded metaverse trademarks ✅
And now, a blockchain property game ✅
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💸 The Market Reality
While Trump's riding high on his crypto wave, the rest of the Web3 gaming world is struggling a little.
DappRadar just dropped some brutal Q1 numbers.
Daily active users: ↓ 6%
Investments: ↓ 71% quarter-over-quarter
Total raised: Just $91 million (down from $313 million in Q4 2024)
DappRadar analyst Sara Gherghelas didn't sugarcoat it: there's "growing pressure on early-stage startups" and "2025 may prove more challenging than previous years."
And it's getting expensive to onboard new players. Crypto gaming campaigns have the highest cost-per-wallet in the entire industry at $8.74 median CPW. That's 3x more expensive than DeFi/CeFi projects.
In simpler terms, it costs almost $9 to get someone with an existing crypto wallet to try your game. Imagine the cost for complete crypto newbies.
Why so expensive? "Higher churn, speculative behaviour, and intense competition" according to marketing firm Addressable.
Translation: people try games, get bored, and move on to something else.
🧩 The Disconnect
Here's where Trump's venture idea has an edge. He doesn't need to care about any of these market realities.
While regular crypto game studios are sweating bullets over user acquisition costs, Trump can leverage:
His massive built-in audience (100 million followers on X and 9 million on Truth Social)
Free media coverage
Existing crypto community from his NFTs and $TRUMP token
The man could launch a pet rock and still get millions in free publicity.
There's still a massive disconnect between Trump's crypto ambitions and the actual state of Web3 gaming.
1/ Infrastructure problems persist
Most of the limited investment in Q1 went to infrastructure projects, not actual games. The pipes are still being built while Trump's trying to sell beachfront property.
2/ The crypto gaming onboarding cliff
New users need to: get a wallet, buy crypto, bridge it to the right chain, connect to the game, and understand tokenomics... all before they can even play. That's not exactly Candy Crush simplicity.
3/ The "fun" factor is still missing
Let's be honest – most crypto games still feel like economic simulators with bad graphics slapped on top.
Will Trump's Monopoly-esque crypto game succeed?
🔮 The Prediction
Short term: The game will launch with massive hype and probably mint money for the Trump team. His base will ape in, just like they did with his NFTs and TRUMP token.
Medium term: User retention will be the real challenge. Will people stick around once the novelty wears off? The game's actual mechanics and tokenomics will determine if it has staying power beyond the initial Trump pump.
Long term: This is either a clever stepping stone toward Trump's broader Web3 ecosystem (metaverse + NFTs + games + DeFi) or it's just another quick cash grab that will fade away after the initial surge.
What this means for crypto gaming overall? Trump's entry legitimises the space in the eyes of his supporters, but it doesn't solve the fundamental problems facing Web3 gaming.
The industry still needs to figure out how to make onboarding seamless, gameplay engaging, and economics sustainable. Until then, even Trump's "very tremendous, very beautiful" game won't change the difficult road ahead for crypto gaming.
At least we'll get some memes out of it.
Got questions about a hot crypto topic that you want help understanding? Ask your question using the form and our crypto experts may answer it along with your name in our weekly News Rollups.
The Week That Was 🗓️
The Ethereum gaming project CyberKongz announced that the SEC has concluded its investigation into the project.
Chipmaker stocks, including Nvidia and AMD, experienced a decline in after-hours trading.
OpenAI is reportedly developing a new social media network similar to Elon Musk's X, aiming to enter the social networking space.
NFT trader Waylon Wilcox faces up to six years in prison for tax fraud involving $13 million in profits from CryptoPunk sales.
Pump.Fun’s PumpSwap DEX processed a staggering $2.5 billion in trades last week, marking a 40% increase from the previous week.
Phantom Wallet is facing a lawsuit over a $500K theft of Wiener Doge tokens linked to alleged security flaws.
OpenSea is advocating for NFT marketplaces to be excluded from SEC regulation under federal securities laws.
Upcoming Launches 🔍
RAGE FREAKS by Lors: Free Mint on Magic Eden. Drops on April 20th on Magic Eden, offering a 1 of 1 NFT in a free-plus-fees public launch..
WorldShards: Early Access Launch on Steam. WorldShards, a sandbox MMORPG, launches Early Access Phase 2 on Steam, May 30th, 2025 at 4:30 PM. Explore shattered islands, battle wargs, and restore a fantasy world.
Crypto Token Unlocks: April 16-20. Key token unlocks this week: $ARB, $APE, $TRUMP, $FTN, $UXLINK, $IMX, $ZKJ . Watch for potential market impact.
Art of the Day 🖼️
Fidenza by Tyler Hobbs on OpenSea
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