Hamster Kombat, a new Telegram-based play-to-earn game, has followed in the footsteps of Notcoin, offering users tokens with the prospect of utilizing them in the cryptocurrency space.
Another Telegram Game Follows in Notcoin’s Footsteps
Hamster Kombat, a new Telegram game in the tap-to-earn style, provides users with tokens, aiming to make them usable in the crypto market over time.
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Hamster Kombat has followed in the footsteps of Notcoin, which, after launching its game, reached a market value of nearly $3 billion within months of being listed on exchanges. This has driven excitement among those who got into crypto through Notcoin or those who missed out on Notcoin to participate in Hamster Kombat.
As a result, while Notcoin now has 40 million members, Hamster Kombat quickly amassed 150 million users, including many Iranians who, despite Telegram’s filtering in Iran, rejoined the platform to pursue the dream of earning income through Hamster Kombat.
What is Hamster Kombat?
Hamster Kombat officially launched on March 25, 2024, and managed to attract 1 million users worldwide in just 11 days. Its success in attracting users has now pushed its total user base to 150 million, with over 30 million daily active users.
At the beginning of Hamster Kombat, players are presented with options to choose from major cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, KuCoin, BingX, and others. Once they select an exchange, they enter the game and increase their in-game assets by tapping on a hamster. Additional methods for advancing in the game include inviting friends, participating in various competitions, completing daily challenges, and collecting rewards.
The game announced from the outset that it operates as an airdrop. Once the game concludes, players will be able to convert the assets they have accumulated into the game’s dedicated cryptocurrency, known by the symbol HMSTR. This token is expected to be listed on various exchanges, although the listing date and price remain unknown.
Recently, Hamster Kombat was made available for pre-sale on the KuCoin exchange at a price of $0.0001 per token. This translates to $100 for every 1 million tokens. However, the final listing price remains to be seen.
According to promotional materials, Hamster Kombat collaborates with the TON (Telegram Open Network) blockchain, and all transactions in the game will occur on the TON blockchain. To carry out HMSTR token transactions and pay fees, users will need to hold the TON cryptocurrency.
Since HMSTR tokens will be traded on the TON blockchain, users must have some TON cryptocurrency in their wallets before starting the game to collect assets. This cryptocurrency is essential for transaction fees and conducting in-game trades.
A Hamster That’s Currently Just a Game
In this regard, we interviewed Abbas Ashtiani, a blockchain and digital economy researcher, about Hamster Kombat. Below is a summary of the discussion:
Ashtiani emphasized that Hamster Kombat is primarily a game, stating: “The first thing about Hamster is its gaming aspect and people’s interest in games. If a game is engaging and manages to captivate people, its user base will grow proportionally. For example, games like Clash of Clans gained popularity to the extent that some users started buying and selling their accounts, showcasing the game’s ability to deeply engage its audience.”
Referring to airdrops as a marketing strategy, this blockchain researcher added: “One of the methods companies use to attract customers is customer acquisition cost. This cost can be distributed among users in the form of rewards, referrals, or airdrops, either actively or passively, to engage the target audience.”
Notcoin: A Successful Example of Combining Gaming and Airdrops
Ashtiani explained that combining gaming and airdrops has given rise to play-to-earn or tap-to-earn games, stating: “The primary goal of these games is to build a user community or ‘community making.’ A notable example of such games is Notcoin, which stimulated participation and engagement through clicking and collecting coins. With 35 million users, it created supply and demand for its coins.”
A notable example of such games is Notcoin, which stimulated participation and engagement through clicking and collecting coins.
He continued: “Notcoin was not initially launched with the aim of offering coins. Instead, it first built its user community. This is significant because in the future, we will encounter more projects like this—phenomena that attract users through various methods and later define a business plan for them.”
He noted: “When a company or startup is built around a product or service and spends a hefty amount on marketing, the cost of customer acquisition becomes a significant figure. For instance, if we multiply this by 35 million in the NotCoin project, the target audience, even if they were not initially defined as a goal, still holds value. The Hamster Combat phenomenon occurred, riding on the hype and growing public interest in the NotCoin project. After it was listed, its value increased due to the supply and demand for the NotCoin token.”
Users as a Valuable Asset in Hamster Kombat
This blockchain researcher emphasized: “Users should be aware that their participation is a valuable asset for the project. The owners of Hamster Kombat can later integrate any service into this project or even sell the user base to another project. Users must realize that in this game, they are the primary target. Some of the marketing costs that the game owners would have otherwise spent on user acquisition are postponed to the future, potentially being distributed as rewards among users or used to generate income upon transferring ownership.”
Ashtiani added: “Like Notcoin, there isn’t a clear roadmap for Hamster Kombat outlining what will happen to its users. In countries with medium to low economic levels, interest in such projects is more prevalent. However, users should understand that they are the source of value here. Regardless of how engaging the game is, they should approach it as merely a game and not expect substantial earnings from it.”
If it is unclear from the start what target market a community will serve, the created user base might not be suitable for the future product. Such users cannot be labeled as a ‘community’ but rather as ‘users,’ and we must wait to see how they will be utilized in the future.
He stressed: “User acquisition or community making driven by hype does not necessarily attract high-quality users. For instance, imagine a women’s clothing company using blockchain technology to create a play-to-earn game or utilizing users from such a game. Since the target market was undefined from the beginning, the user base might not align with the product’s future utility. This disconnect prevents these users from being considered a community for that specific purpose.”
Ashtiani highlighted: “Many people drawn to these games due to the economic potential of cryptocurrencies might find their expectations unmet and exit the space disappointed. This does not foster high-quality users or create a meaningful target community. The expectation from these games—that users themselves are the product—is a critical issue that fails to build quality participants for that industry.”
“For cryptocurrencies, while there might be a solid business plan later, which Hamster Kombat has significant potential for, it may not materialize. This could lead to disillusionment. The rapid growth in public interest in such games can dissipate just as quickly. We’ve observed this with blockchain phenomena like metaverses, NFTs, metaverse lands, and more,” Ashtiani explained.
He elaborated on how Telegram-hosted games operate: “These mini-apps that aim to function on Web3 blockchains like TON (Telegram Open Network) often overlook decentralization and transparency. However, TON’s blockchain deserves attention. Last year, some users’ crypto assets stored in Telegram’s in-app wallet faced identification, blocking, labeling, freezing, or rejection.”
This issue particularly impacted Iranian users trying to transfer their crypto assets to Telegram’s in-app wallet: “They encountered messages about frozen, blocked, or rejected assets due to links with Iranian exchanges.”
Ashtiani noted: “This occurred with Telegram’s in-app wallet about a year ago. While users now utilize decentralized wallets like Tonkeeper, this shows that Telegram has considered such practices and included them in its roadmap to align with global regulations. Consequently, Iranian IPs and assets could be at risk if centralized Telegram wallets are used.”
Telegram’s roadmap appears to align with global regulatory compliance. As such, Iranian users relying on Telegram’s centralized wallets may face risks to their assets and IPs.
