Roblox, the online platform with over 200 million monthly users and 65.5 million daily active users, announced on Tuesday it would integrate XRP for in-game payments in partnership with BitPay and Xsolla. This move is seen as a significant step towards crypto adoption in the gaming industry, especially considering that 44% of Roblox's daily active users are under the age of 13.
The announcement follows a successful first quarter in 2023 for Roblox, which saw $773 million in in-game purchases. The integration was facilitated by BitPay and Xsolla, firms that have been partners since 2014. Xsolla, which manages Roblox's in-game transactions, has been at the forefront of crypto integration in gaming.
In August 2022, Xsolla implemented an NFT-focused payment system with Coinchange Financials Inc. and TradeZing. By August 2023, the company had integrated Crypto.com's checkout solution into its Pay Station platform. Further expanding its payment options, Xsolla enabled PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) USD (PYUSD) transactions in September 2023.
Despite initial false reports causing a brief price spike, XRP's price fell to $0.4897 following the announcement. However, its volume increased to $1.04 billion, and there were significant whale transactions noted.
XRP lawyer John Deaton pointed out that this move could usher in a new era of crypto adoption in gaming, potentially benefiting both players and developers. It could also influence other Web2 gaming platforms to consider cryptocurrency integration.
Roblox's decision to accept both XRP and BTC payments further solidifies its position as a major player in the gaming industry and highlights the increasing role of cryptocurrencies in digital transactions among younger demographics.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.