Why Crypto Game Pixels Is Launching a Token: ‘Now the Fun Begins’
It has been an eventful few months for the crypto game Pixels, which saw a surge in interest after transitioning from Polygon to the Ronin blockchain in October. However, founder Luke Barwikowski stated that the launch of the highly anticipated PIXEL token next week marks a fresh start for the team as they fully realize their crypto vision for the social farming game.
“The fact that we’re launching on Binance… the fact that all of this stuff is happening and we’re reaching the full expression of launching a token is pretty amazing,” Barwikowski shared with Decrypt’s GG. “Now the fun begins, right? I just view this as literally day one of everything that we’re working on. We have stuff that’s releasing, but now it’s a long road ahead of us too.”
As previously announced, the PIXEL token will be listed on Binance on February 19 after a 10-day Launchpool campaign where Binance users can earn PIXEL token rewards by staking certain cryptocurrencies. At the same time, Pixels is distributing PIXEL airdrop reward allocations to thousands of unique wallets, including users who qualified through previous play-to-airdrop campaigns in the game and Pixels NFT land owners.
Barwikowski spoke to Decrypt’s GG about the token launch and future plans for the game. He discussed the current atmosphere surrounding the project and the journey that led to this moment, including a shift from a business-centric online events focus. The rise of Axie Infinity, a popular NFT gaming smash, influenced Barwikowski’s decision to explore the value of integrating crypto into applications and experiences.
“[Axie] was one of the initial applications that finally clicked and made sense,” Barwikowski said. “Cryptocurrency actually has some pretty interesting use cases when you start to integrate it into things that actually have value, or systems or economics that have real value behind them.”
Barwikowski also mentioned his personal connection to Web3 currencies and in-game currencies through experiences like playing Runescape. These factors motivated Pixels to pivot toward Web3 gaming.
While Pixels has experienced increased attention in recent months, reaching this point has been a long and winding journey. However, launching a token has always been a significant milestone for Pixels, and the game plans to celebrate it with the community.
“I have been a huge believer in tokens and Web3 since the very beginning,” Barwikowski emphasized. “To me, this was kind of what the whole point of all of this was—to get to here, exactly.”
Edited by Ryan Ozawa.