Jack O’Holleran, CEO of SKALE Labs, on the State of Web3 Gaming and Meme Coins vs. NFTs | Ep. 346
In an exclusive interview with Cryptonews, Jack O’Holleran, the co-founder and CEO of SKALE Labs, a gasless EVM-compatible blockchain designed for secure Ethereum scaling, discussed Web3 gaming and its path to a “massive breakout.”
He argued that the industry is not far from reaching millions of players and discussed whether social apps are a way for it to reach these wider audiences.
Lastly, the CEO touched on two of SKALE’s recent major partnerships.
Web3 Gaming is Heading for a ‘Massive Breakout’
Talking with Cryptonews Podcast host Matt Zahab, O’Holleran said SKALE recorded over 50 million transactions over the previous 30 days and averaged over 5 million unique active wallets a month.
Notably, he said, “a huge chunk of that’s driven by gaming,” as well as Web3 AI products, decentralized social products, and DePIN.
“But it’s unbelievable,” the CEO said.
Now, he remarked, he gets to talk about what is happening currently rather than what theoretically could happen in the future.
We’re delighted to integrate with @SkaleNetwork and onboard their 100+ games into our ecosystem!
Portal is building the interoperable future of crypto gaming: one that is ready to onboard the next generation of gamers.
SKALE’s gas-less blockchain is vital to this vision 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0NbM35HHj8
— Portal (@Portalcoin) June 17, 2024
Furthermore, SKALE houses major games at the moment, and more will be launching.
“And I think you’re going to see this massive breakout, especially as these partnerships and integrations with Unity and games in the Epic Games Store are actually coming together,” he added.
Reaching Millions of Players Could Be Just Round the Corner
Gaming is in for a bright future, O’Holleran suggested.
It will actually be the first category to see some ten million people a day utilizing a blockchain, he argued.
The best performers are likely to be casual mobile games. These games are excellent at quickly capturing and keeping interest. People keep on playing.
“If you could do that and be in this fun cryptocurrency environment where you’re using Web3 and playing with these assets […] it just takes things to a different level,” O’Holleran said.
“And I don’t see any reason why it won’t happen based on all the data points I’m seeing right now.”
Big news, gamers!
Fusyfox will be integrated into the next-gen #gaming platform, @Portalcoin !
Join the future of Web3 Gaming now with @SkaleNetwork & @Portalcoin pic.twitter.com/SOryRvDR0M
— FUSYFOX 🦊 🚀 (@fusyfox) June 17, 2024
When it comes to the SKALE-based games, the team is looking at “hundreds of thousands daily active users.”
Importantly, it doesn’t take long to go from 100,000 to a million once “you start hitting these growth groups,” the CEO said.
He pointed out that a year ago, the best games on SKALE would have had tens of thousands of players. Therefore, the space has already recorded a significant increase.
“So, tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands will very quickly be – I think by the end of this year – millions, especially [with some] kick-ass games launching too.”
Are Social Apps a Path to Mass Web3 Gaming Adoption?
Social apps can theoretically be a good tool for increasing Web3 participation. However, there is an issue.
According to O’Holleran, the challenge for social apps is that they are fighting “strong network effects.”
Depending on the generation and field of interest, people currently use platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
“It’s just hard to break into that,” he said.
In the CEO’s opinion, it will still be three to five years “until the number one global social network is a crypto native play. But I do think it will happen.”
SKALE's goal is to make Web3 more accessible for all! 🗺️
Listen to SKALE Labs CEO @jackoholleran explain how identity solutions, wallets, and protocols need to improve to achieve mass adoption. 👇 pic.twitter.com/UbYgItUknr
— SKALE (@SkaleNetwork) June 14, 2024
To understand this, one should observe the way projects incentivize actions, he argued.
For example, games are launching rewards, and players are responding.
Then they get “hooked” to a good, fun game and “stick around.”
Eventually, all these skills and growth methodologies the space is currently forming are likely to come over into a social network.
Different Use Cases Bringing the Masses In
In April this year, SKALE penned a deal with Virtualness, a mobile-first platform enhanced by generative AI and blockchain technology.
The strategic partnership aims to create a deeper and improved connection between fans and sports organizations, including the famous Liga 1.
O’Holleran remarked that “it was amazing validation” that Virtualness picked SKALE among so many projects competing for the role.
Furthermore, he said, Virtualness is “a great example” of two key things:
- a team that’s building a mobile-first product for normal users;
- a social app that combines an NFT marketplace, creativity, and fan engagement.
It fits into the narrative of what could be the next mega app, O’Holleran said, adding that this could be an entry into the above-discussed Web3 social play.
“Instead of directly saying ‘we’re beating Facebook, or we’re going to be Twitter,’ it’s a different use case that then backs into that,” he added.
But that’s not all. On June 18, SKALE announced its partnership with Unity. The company joined Unity’s publisher support program.
🎮 SKALE has teamed up with @unitygames to level up Web3 game development! 🎮
As the FIRST member of Unity's Publisher Support Program, developers can now integrate SKALE's gas-free, invisible blockchain experience into Unity-built games.
Bringing blockchain to the world's… pic.twitter.com/WOHQmOLpkW
— SKALE (@SkaleNetwork) June 18, 2024
Unity is the number one game engine in the world, especially for those building causal mobile games, O’Holleran said. It boasts 1.2 million monthly active users.
Notably, it is “very focused on developer support” and “making developers successful,” O’Holleran said.
The program will provide gaming developers with enhanced support services. It will enable them to “leverage Unity’s game development platform to the fullest extent while unleashing the full power of web3 gaming on SKALE’s gas-less blockchain architecture,” the teams stated.
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That’s not all.
In this interview, O’Holleran also discussed:
- excellent performance of games on SKALE and the rising numbers;
- the evolution of hate directed at Web3 gaming and overcoming skepticism;
- real utility in blockchain gaming;
- people using the blockchain as “a truth vehicle”;
- how SKALE is redefining interactions within the Web3 gaming community
- the surge of meme coins, “a more democratized, accessible version of NFTs”;
- the rise of “some really cool Web3 AI applications,” DePIN, and DeSci (decentralized science);
- the current state of Ethereum and what it is lacking.
You can watch the full podcast episode here.
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About Jack O’Holleran
Jack O’Holleran is the Co-Founder and CEO of SKALE Labs, a gas-less EVM-compatible blockchain designed for secure Ethereum scaling.
O’Holleran is a veteran Silicon Valley technology entrepreneur with a background in machine learning, AI, and blockchain technologies.
Formerly, he co-founded Aktana in 2008, which went to serve many Global Fortune 500 clients with its AI and machine learning platform.
That same year, O’Holleran started working with digital assets. He was instrumental in building a digital currency platform for enterprise resource allocation.
As a previous starting receiver for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team, he is passionate about bringing blockchain to the sports industry to bring fans closer to the teams.
