Token Use Cases in Asia, from Gaming to AI to Cross-Border Payments
By Kathy Tong, Venture Investor, and Rizza Torres, Marketing Manager, Decasonic
Asia stands as one of the most dynamic regions for Web3 and blockchain development, driven by its burgeoning tech infrastructure, cultural affinity for digital gaming, and favorable sentiment and adoption of digital assets. In this blog, we highlight some key token use cases and the ecosystems in Asia that are gaining adoption.
1. Gaming Tokens and Community Engagement: BNB Chain, TRON, and Solana
The gaming sector is one of the most prominent areas where blockchain and tokens are gaining traction in Asia. This is driven by the region's strong gaming culture and increasing adoption of blockchain-based games. Asian countries, particularly South Korea, Greater China, and Japan, lead in mobile gaming consumption, which is expected to see significant growth over the coming few years. The global blockchain gaming market is expected to grow from $4.6 billion in 2023 to over $65 billion by 2027. In Korea, companies like Wemade and Netmarble are spearheading blockchain-based gaming developments, where tokens and in-game assets play critical roles.
Recently, corporate blockchains from Sony, Kakao and Line Messenger extend web3 technologies natively into IP and messaging experiences. Developed by Startale and Sony Group, Soneium is a layer 2 built on the OP stack and aims to protect the IP rights of creators and aim to attract developers building in entertainment, gaming and finance. Kaia is an EVM-equivalent chain emerging from Klaytn Network and integrated with LINE and KakaoTalk app. With its mobile friendly SDK and its gaming focus, Kaia will be bringing Web3 adoption to mainstream adoption in Asia through and facilitating distribution channels for casual gaming, defi and other consumer apps.
BNB Chain, Solana and TRON are a few key blockchain platforms that enable robust gaming token ecosystems:
BNB Chain: BNB’s dominance in Asia is unparalleled and is a premier destination for Web3 games within Asia. Both BNB Smart Chain and opBNB boasts one of the largest user bases globally and rank at the top by DAUs. There are over 3,000 dApps operating on BNB, many of which are gaming-focused. Major titles like Ultiverse and World of Dypians leverage BNB’s infrastructure to offer immersive, tokenized gaming experiences. The chain’s high-performance capabilities have also attracted partnerships with key game studios and gaming guilds, ensuring continued innovation and growth in Web3 gaming.
TRON: Known for its high transaction throughput, TRON has seen a recent surge in memecoin activity, driven by SunPump platform imitating the success of pump.fun. Memecoins are becoming integral to Tron’s community engagement, as retail investors flock to capitalize on these trends and see casual gaming and culture trends emerge as a result.
Solana: Solana’s appeal lies in its high-speed transactions and low costs, making it a popular choice for blockchain games. Solana has been the retail driven chain with a recent focus on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization and AI-powered projects, supported by tools like Firedancer Validator, is set to play a transformative role in gaming and DeFi platforms.
While blockchain gaming in South Korea faces regulatory hurdles, particularly for P2E models, companies are shifting focus to international markets. UGC marketplaces are an under tapped opportunity within Web3 gaming that we envision will thrive in Asia.
2. User Generated Content for Digital Assets and Collectibles
Asia is quickly becoming a hub for UGC within gaming, entertainment and AR/VR. Countries like South Korea, Japan, and China are creating robust genAI tools and dynamic marketplace where players are able to control, create, own and sell their own in-game assets. Casual gaming is gaining mainstream adoption in SE Asian countries such as the Philippines and Vietnam.
Key trends include:
Tokenized metaverses: We’re seeing an increased interest in virtual worlds, particularly in Korea and Japan where fandom drives a large part of the culture. Now, aided by genAI and immersive game environments, users can personalize and tokenize their own virtual land and avatars. The youth in Asia are digital natives with their entertainment and gaming preferences, engaging with their social circles through digital worlds.
Guilds: Guilds are a crucial component of Web3 gaming, especially in Southeast Asia, where play-to-earn models have created new economic opportunities for gamers. Leading guilds like Yield Guild Games, YGG, empower players by providing access and liquidity to in-game assets, allowing them to earn income through popular titles like Axie Infinity. Axie Infinity’s dedicated sidechain, Ronin, is another key player in the guilds ecosystem by facilitating fast, low-cost transactions, enabling guilds to lend assets to players and share in the revenue generated. This model has been particularly impactful in SEA, where gaming has become a significant source of income for many.
In-game assets: Tokenized in-game items, often appearing as NFTs, are transforming in-game assets into tradable commodities and allowing players to own digital items such as weapons, skins, and avatars. These assets can be bought, sold, or traded on decentralized marketplaces, creating new revenue streams for players and developers. The growth of platforms like Marblex and IntellaX further reflects NFT adoption in South Korea.
3. DeFi and Real-World Asset Tokenization
The tokenization of Real World Assets (RWAs) in Asia is gaining momentum in Asia, particularly in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. These regions are driving DeFi innovations by enabling tokenization of traditionally hard-to-access asset classes such as commodities, private, and illiquid assets for retail investments.
Solana, TRON and BeraChain are ecosystems currently hosting high RWA, DeFI and Stablecoin activities.
Solana: Solana is positioning itself as a key RWA platform, leveraging its high-speed, low-cost blockchain infrastructure to unlock new opportunities in financial use cases. The ecosystem's focus on RWA tokenization aims to bring tangible assets like real estate, commodities, and debt onto the blockchain, creating more accessible and efficient financial markets. More and more DePin projects are choosing to build on Solana due to its speed and cost-effectiveness allowing handling of real-time data processing and frequent micro-transactions to be made efficient. Leading DePin projects such as io.net, getgrass, Helium and Hivemapper are all built on Solana.
TRON: TRON is known for its close to zero transaction fee and high TPS, making it an ideal infrastructure for DeFI and payments. Currently TRON holds the second highest DeFi TVL just behind Ethereum. Some notable DeFi platforms are JustLend, JustStable and SunSwap. TRON also facilitates some of the largest USDT transfers as it’s becoming a leading network for transfer payments within Asia.
BeraChain: BeraChain was built to be a liquidity chain and enhances liquidity and capital efficiency within DeFi. Built with a Proof of Liquidity (PoL) consensus model, BeraChain allows staked liquidity to fuel its security, ensuring that both DeFi participants and the ecosystem benefit from robust staking rewards. This approach aligns BeraChain with the growing trend of integrating tokenized assets into blockchain ecosystems with an emphasis on community-driven innovation and gamification of financial systems. Some notable projects include The Honey Jar, Honeypot Finance and Beraroot.
4. Cross-Border Payments and Fintech Innovations
The current state of cross-border payments and fintech using Web3 in Asia is evolving rapidly, with the region leading in adoption of blockchain technologies for financial transactions. Web3 enables seamless, near-instantaneous payments with significantly lower fees compared to traditional banking methods. Blockchain-based networks like TRON and Ripple are actively being used for cross-border remittances, particularly for high-volume transfers involving stablecoins like USDT, which is gaining popularity in Asia for fast, low-cost transfers.
Regulatory advancements in Hong Kong and Singapore are establishing clearer frameworks for adopting decentralized technologies. Projects like Stellar and Ripple are addressing cross-border payment challenges by improving liquidity and reducing settlement times. Additionally, platforms using Solana Pay and TRON are enabling real-time, low-cost payments, which are especially beneficial for the unbanked populations in Southeast Asia.
Despite these developments, challenges remain, such as regulatory differences across countries, lack of standardization, and technical issues with interoperability. However, the trend toward integrating Web3 into traditional fintech systems is gaining traction, with significant opportunities to streamline financial transactions and foster innovation in cross-border payments.
5. Generative AI
Asia is rapidly emerging as a leader in both generative AI and the intersection of Web3 and AI. Countries like China and Japan are at the forefront of this trend, with China especially noted for its robust generative AI ecosystem, hosting thousands of AI companies and leading the world in patent filings. Strong government support and favorable regulatory environments in Asia, including regions like Singapore and Japan, are helping accelerate adoption. These governments are crafting AI policies that balance innovation with necessary regulation, promoting responsible AI use while driving investments and development across industries.
In Web3, the combination of AI and blockchain is gaining momentum. Generative AI is being integrated into decentralized networks, enhancing data security and decision-making in smart contracts. Platforms in countries like Taiwan are advancing the Web3 x AI space, focusing on combining these technologies to create transformative applications in gaming, finance, and data management.
Token 2049: Asia’s Web3 Showcase
As Asia's flagship Web3 and blockchain event, TOKEN 2049 is where the latest trends and innovations come together. Every year, over 20,000 attendees gather in Singapore, making it one of the world’s most influential conferences in this space. It's a major platform for discussions on cutting-edge topics like Web3, AI, RWA, and DeFi advancements among many other ever-evolving narratives. Solana Breakpoint follows right after TOKEN 2049, celebrating the builders and key ecosystem players in the Solana community. This year's TOKEN 2049 promises to spotlight breakthrough narratives and the most exciting developments within Web3.
Ecosystem Growth Opportunities
Within Asia Pacific region, we believe venture opportunities on the adoption of these following use cases:
Gaming and Metaverse: Immersive and casual gaming on BNB Chain, TRON, and Solana among other gaming chains have a massive user base and impact with its rewards models, in-game asset tokenization and ever-emerging engaging gameplay.
DeFi and Fintech on crypto rails: Massive markets are to be tapped into within Asia for cross-border payments and using decentralized technology to transact and conduct fintech.
UGC: UGC within Web3 gaming and generative AI presents immense opportunities for player-driven innovation. Players can create and tokenize in-game assets, such as avatars and environments, which can be traded and sold, driving new revenue streams.
RWA: As tokenization of real-world assets gains regulatory clarity, Asia is a massive market with major finance hubs within Hong Kong and Singapore, offering opportunities to disrupt within the traditional financial industry to tokenize financial, physical and illiquid assets.
AI: In the world of generative AI, AI-powered personalization enhances content creation, trace IP for revenue attribution in the creator economy, and decentralized platforms allow users to co-develop games, shaping immersive metaverse experiences.
Conclusion
Asia’s blockchain and Web3 ecosystems are ripe with innovation, presenting numerous use cases for tokens across gaming, finance, and digital ownership. Founders who navigate the regulatory landscape and tap into the region’s tech-savvy population will be well-positioned for growth.
Southeast Asia's Web3 market alone is forecasted to reach $2.9 billion by 2032, underscoring the region’s pivotal role in the ongoing blockchain revolution. By understanding these dynamics and leveraging community-driven platforms like BNB Chain, Solana, and TRON, founders can grow within these growing ecosystems.
Decasonic remains committed to the role of tokens in the Web3 ecosystem and is excited to work with the best founders to help realize the potential of this new incentive layer.
If you’re building or investing in a durable token ecosystem, we’d love to chat.
We’re here to help you bring your vision to life.
The content of this material is strictly for informational and educational purposes and is not meant to constitute investment advice or a recommendation or a solicitation to buy or sell any asset or to make any financial decision. Nothing in these blog posts should be considered legal or tax advice. You should consult with your own professional advisor before making any financial decision. Decasonic offers no warranties on any content in the material posted in these blog posts, including that it is accurate, complete, or correct. The opinions expressed in these posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Decasonic. Decasonic is not liable for any errors or omissions in the content of this newsletter or for any actions taken based on the information provided herein.
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