Gabby Dizon - Mapping the Metaverse Economy - [Founder’s Field Guide, EP. 49]

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">My guest today is</span> <a href="https://twitter.com/gabusch"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Gabby Dizon</span></a><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, co-founder of Yield Guild Games or YGG. In 2020, Gabby and his co-founders built YGG around the growing “play-to-earn” economy within blockchain-based games. Based in the Philippines, YGG effectively backs players - who might not otherwise be able to afford to play - in exchange for a share of their profits. Today, YGG is paying out over a $1mn US dollars a week to players within its community - largely concentrated in their home country of the Philippines.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The play-to-earn model has seen its most rapid growth in the popular NFT-based game “Axie Infinity”. Players earn tokens within the game which can be exchanged into local currencies or be used to purchase more digital assets. For a sense of how this market has expanded, Axie Infinity has already reported over $1.5bn in sales over its history- and nearly $900mn over the last 30 days.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The speed at which these games and the ecosystems around them are growing is remarkable. In our conversation, Gabby explains YGG’s decentralized structure, the unit economics of their business model, and how he deals with the volatility of crypto assets when trying to build a durable, long-term business. We also discuss the broader metaverse landscape, how it might evolve, what might derail it, and the technicalities of building a token-based, as opposed to equity-based, business.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">I hope you enjoy this wild conversation with Gabby Dizon.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page</span> <a href= "https://www.joincolossus.com/episodes/45988185/dizon-mapping-the-metaverse-economy"> <span style="font-weight: 400;">here</span></a><sp