As the play-to-earn (P2E) market grows, a new generation of frontrunners promises to take things up a notch by making blockchain games mainstream. Among them, Gala Games stands out for having made significant progress toward achieving this goal. This Gala explainer delves into the Gala cryptocurrency (GALA) and its surrounding ecosystem. Here’s what you need to know.
Methodology
BeInCrypto evaluated several leading platforms to determine the optimal cryptocurrency exchanges for purchasing GALA. We based our evaluation on certain key criteria including, but not limited to, a secure, cost-effective, and user-friendly trading experience. The following exchanges were selected after a six-month testing period. Here’s why each got the nod.
Bybit
• Offers spot trading for GALA against USDT pair.
• Highly liquid order books for GALA
• Intuitive mobile app for on-the-go trading.
• Competitive maker/taker fees as low as 0.06%
• Robust security practices like cold storage and 2FA.
OKX
• Deep liquidity across all available GALA trading pairs
• Offers GALA futures and perpetual swap contracts.
• Interest-bearing GALA savings accounts available.
• Advanced trading tools like margin and portfolio trackers.
• Lists GALA spot trading against USDT and other stablecoins.
• One of the lowest fee structures at 0.1% per trade.
• Diverse suite of GALA trading products (spot, futures, lending).
• Secure exchange with mandatory 2FA and crypto asset insurance
• Feature-rich mobile app with advanced charting capabilities.
• We found some quality assurance concerns over some of the more obscure altcoin listings on the platform.
eToro
• Simple and beginner-friendly platform for buying GALA.
• Ability to replicate trades of successful GALA investors using the copy-trading feature.
• Regulated exchange across multiple jurisdictions.
• Supports traditional and crypto investing on one platform.
• Competitive USD deposit/withdrawal methods.
• The higher trading spreads compared to other major crypto exchanges is a drawback the platform should look into.
Overall, these exchanges were selected due to their support for GALA trading pairs, good liquidity, and advanced trading features catering to all experience levels. Robust security infrastructure and affordable fee structures were also prioritized. For further insight into BeInCryto’s verification methodologies, click this link.
Best platforms to buy Gala (GALA)
Before this Gala explainer dives into the details of the GameFi ecosystem, we’ve put together a quick round-up showing where to buy GALA. As a moderately popular cryptocurrency with a market cap of approximately $1.9 billion as of mid-March 2024, GALA is available on several leading exchanges in 2024. Here, we have shortlisted four of the best platforms you can consider if you decide to add the Gala token to your portfolio.
Bybit
As one of the most popular derivative trading platforms, Bybit offers perpetual futures contracts and high leverage options up to 100x for select contracts. Its user-friendly interface combined with generally good liquidity across markets creates an appealing trading environment. Bybit further reinforces its position through a strong emphasis on security measures like cold wallet storage and the provision of a demo trading environment for strategy practice.
OKX
OKX brings along a comprehensive solution as a large spot and derivative trading platform with a wide range of trading pairs and assets. Its markets benefit from good liquidity across numerous offerings, supplemented by crypto lending and earning products. Advanced traders can leverage tools like portfolio margining, while the OKX mobile app accommodates on-the-go trading needs with charting capabilities.
- Large spot and derivative trading platform
- Wide range of trading pairs/assets
- Good liquidity across many markets
- Offers crypto lending and earning products
- Advanced trading tools like portfolio margining
- Regulatory compliance issues in some regions
- Higher trading fees than some competitors
KuCoin
KuCoin stands out for its extensive selection of altcoins and trading pairs, complemented by futures, spot, lending, and staking services. Major pairs exhibit good liquidity, coupled with relatively low trading fees. KuCoin further expands its offerings by supporting direct fiat currency purchases and integrating a decentralized exchange (DEX).
- Wide selection of altcoins and trading pairs
- Offers futures, spot, lending and staking services
- Good liquidity on major pairs
- Relatively low trading fees
- Security issues in the past (hacked in 2020)
- Based in tax haven (Seychelles) with less regulatory oversight
eToro
eToro targets a wide audience with its beginner-friendly platform and mobile app. The platform offers crypto trading alongside traditional assets like stocks and ETFs. New investors benefit from eToro’s educational resources, while the platform’s regulation across multiple jurisdictions instills confidence. Distinctive features include social trading to replicate successful investors’ strategies and fractional share investing for portfolio.
- Very beginner friendly platform and mobile app
- Offers crypto trading alongside stocks/ETFs
- Good educational resources for new investors
- Regulated in multiple jurisdictions
- Social trading capability to copy leading investors
- Limited crypto variety
What is Gala Games?
Gala Games is a blockchain-powered gaming platform. Its core mission is to disrupt the traditional gaming industry by empowering players with ownership over their in-game assets. The platform lets you create, own, and trade these assets using cryptocurrencies. The ultimate objective is to pave the way for a truly player-owned gaming economy.
Gala was developed on the Ethereum blockchain. It offers a range of P2E games, a sizable NFT marketplace, and the provision for users to store and distribute media products — both audio and video.
The platform relies on an extensive network of distributed nodes. These nodes are user-owned and play a key role in securing the network while helping expedite its development.
The node owners earn rewards in Gala’s native cryptocurrency, GALA, an ERC-20 token. GALA is important for the broader Gala ecosystem as it enables users to participate in games, cast their governance votes, or buy/trade stuff on the marketplace.
The team
Gala Games was co-founded by Eric Schiermeyer in 2018. Schiermeyer is also a co-founder of Zynga, the company known for its impact on social gaming with global hits like FarmVille.
Schiermeyer’s experience creating engaging gameplay and his vision of leveraging blockchain’s potential laid the foundation for Gala Games. The team behind Gala comprises veterans from both the gaming and blockchain sectors. Their expertise spans critical areas necessary for the intersection of gaming and decentralized technology. These include, but are not limited to, software development, cryptocurrency, and UI/UX design. These diverse skill sets have enabled the company to blend traditional gaming with blockchain innovation effectively.
In terms of funding, specific details about funding rounds and financial backing have not been as prominently disclosed as in many tech startups. However, judging by the data available on CrunchBase, Gala Games has secured at least $200 million in investment.
Under the hood: How Gala Games work
Gala Games operates right at the intersection of gaming and blockchain technology, employing a decentralized model that redistributes power and ownership to the gaming community. Note that this is the polar opposite of how traditional game developers and/or publishers hold exclusive control over every major element within a game.
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Here’s a quick look at the intricate mechanisms driving Gala Games.
Anchored in blockchain tech
The backbone of Gala Games is its solid blockchain infrastructure. Every in-game asset, from weapons to spacecraft, is represented as a unique and immutable digital asset or non-fungible token (NFT). You can buy, sell, and trade them across various marketplaces. This approach grants players genuine ownership rights rather than merely a license to use the assets.
Nodes network
Player-operated nodes are another crucial element in Gala Games. These nodes validate transactions, secure the network, and record gameplay data. In exchange for their contributions, node operators earn rewards, including GALA tokens and sometimes exclusive NFTs. This system not only decentralizes the game’s operations but also fosters community participation and a vested interest in maintaining network integrity.
There are four types of nodes on the platform:
- Founder nodes are perhaps the most crucial components of Gala Games’ ecosystem. They serve as guards against fraudulent activities and provide a governance mechanism through which holders can vote on the project’s developmental trajectory using GALA. These Founder Nodes are a finite resource, with only 50,000 available for purchase from the platform using the GALA token. This carefully planned supply underscores their scarcity and value.
- Game Nodes are specialized, dedicated servers that facilitate gaming experiences within the Gala Games ecosystem. These nodes grant access to unique privileges and allowances within the games they support. For instance, the ability to acquire and utilize non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or invite other players to join multiplayer sessions.
- Film Nodes, akin to Player Nodes, are dedicated nodes that provide a platform for film experiences and entertainment. These nodes enable creators to distribute their cinematic works as NFTs, thus offering audiences the opportunity to own and collect exclusive digital content.
- Player Nodes are decentralized music players that enable participants to engage with and share their music in the form of NFTs. This feature allows artists to monetize their creations and fans to own and collect unique audio experiences.
GALA token
At the economic heart of Gala Games lies the GALA token, which facilitates transactions within the ecosystem. Players can leverage GALA to acquire in-game items, NFTs, and even nodes. The token’s utility extends beyond mere currency as it serves as a means for players to hold a stake in the network’s growth and participate in its governance.
Game development and publishing
Gala Games also functions as a platform for game development and publishing. Independent developers can leverage Gala’s blockchain infrastructure to create and launch their own games, tapping into an existing community of players and blockchain enthusiasts. This model supports a diverse range of games and genres, expanding the ecosystem’s appeal and fostering innovation.
Player-driven economy
The culmination of Gala Games’ features is a player-driven economy, where the players themselves determine the value and utility of in-game assets. This economy is based on scarcity, utility, and community consensus, differing from traditional games where the developer exerts complete control over the game’s economic dynamics.
Community governance
Finally, Gala Games emphasizes community governance. It empowers players and node operators to have a voice in the platform’s development and decision-making processes. This participatory approach ensures that the ecosystem evolves to benefit its stakeholders while aligning with their collective interests.
GALA tokenomics
The GALA token serves a dual purpose within the Gala Games ecosystem. Its main job is to act as an in-game currency and make sure users can buy, sell, and trade NFTs efficiently. Beyond that, it also has the added responsibility of handling transaction fees on the network.
GALA comes with a fixed cap on its total supply, which ensures its scarcity and, by extension, its value.
Each day, the issuance of tokens is divided equally: 50% is allocated to the operators of Founder’s Nodes, rewarding their commitment to network security. Meanwhile, the other 50% is reserved for Gala Games, earmarked for the platform’s sustained growth and development. This daily issuance halves every year on July 21st, further limiting the supply.
Token distribution in a nutshell:
- Total supply capped.
- Half of daily issuance goes to the Founder’s Node operators (network security).
- The remaining half is reserved for Gala Games conservatorship (future growth).
- Daily emission is halved periodically.
GALA explainer: Token upgrade
In 2023, the Gala Games ecosystem underwent a major upgrade with the launch of the new GALA (v2) token. The upgrade, which took place on May 15, 2023, saw existing GALA tokens converted on a 1:1 basis to the new GALA (v2) tokens while all functionalities and support for the original GALA token ceased simultaneously.
The transition was aimed at potential improvements to the Gala Games ecosystem, such as enhanced security and scalability. Additionally, it prepared the platform for future developments.
While several major exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, and Kraken announced support for the GALA (v2) token upgrade, users were advised to confirm with their specific exchange to ensure a smooth transition. The upgrade marked a significant milestone for Gala Games and made way for further advancements.
“A new contract allows us to create a more formalized burning process for gas transactions, enable governance votes that update emission schedules and dynamic supply, and so much more. From a user perspective, new $GALA will function just like the old $GALA. Under the hood though, we’re adding a ton of power to the engine that is web3 entertainment.”
– Gala Games: Medium
Is GALA a worthwhile investment?
As this comprehensive GALA explainer has covered, the Gala Games ecosystem is at the forefront of merging blockchain technology with the gaming industry. The platform has come a long way since its launch in 2018, inching closer every day to revolutionizing how we experience video games. As such, GALA has some serious potential if the project can stick to its roadmap and stated objectives.
However, it’s crucial to understand that investing in Gala (GALA), like any other cryptocurrency, carries inherent risks due to market volatility and evolving regulatory landscapes. Therefore, it’s crucial to do thorough research and consider your risk tolerance before taking the big step. Also, remember that no investment is entirely safe — be it crypto or conventional assets such as stocks or gold. Gala is no exception from that reality. So, ensure you’re well informed about its potential and ongoing market trends before investing.
Frequently asked questions
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