The Top Web3 Earning Trends of 2022

Despite the current gloomy state of the crypto markets, 2022 has arguably been a good year for the web3 space. This year saw increased interest in and adoption of the “decentralised internet” as companies of all sizes jumped on the web3 bandwagon. Even the ongoing bear season is not enough to discourage top investors from the sector as they build for the next bull cycle.

As the year winds to a close, we decided to recap some of the hottest earning opportunities in web3 this year – along with what the future may hold for next year. 

Let’s dive in! 

Play-to-Earn (P2E)

With the increasing popularity of web3 came the prevalence of play-to-earn games. As the name implies, play-to-earn games allow players to earn cryptocurrency and digital assets for participation on their platforms. 

One of the common ways players earn money from P2E games is by selling in-game NFT assets on marketplaces. Another is through staking, a concept that caught on this year. Staking in P2E games involves players locking up their assets for a while to earn interest or rewards over time. 

Some of the notable P2E games this year include Splinterlands – a collectible trading card game topping DappRadar’s rankings – and Nine Chronicles, a blockchain adventure RPG.

Move-to-Earn (M2E)

The move-to-earn concept was introduced by Step’n in late 2021 and continued to gain popularity into 2022. It shares a similar idea with play-to-earn, the difference being that users earn money by performing physical exercises.

Move-to-earn platforms also allow users to earn via staking and trading in-app NFTs. 

Step’n remains one of the big names in this space, along with Wirtual, Sweat Economy and more recently, Defit. Although the bear market has been rough on Step’n, it boasts a dedicated user base and ambitious plans to drive massive adoption of web3 from next year and beyond.

Another new project to look out for is Genopets, which is somewhat of a cross between a regular M2E platform and old-school Tamagotchi. Players earn rewards and take care of their digital pets through movement exercises. 

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) 

NFTs rode the massive boom they enjoyed from 2021 into this year. Several projects continued to launch collections, and NFT art trading remained a lucrative business until the bear season hit.

While NFT trading volumes have significantly decreased, NFT rentals have been steadily growing popular as a reliable income source for those in it. NFT renting allows individuals to lease out their utility NFTs for a small payment. Those who “borrow” the digital assets get access to the benefits of owning the NFT for a short period without paying full price. 

Utility NFTs link real-life rewards and experiences to digital assets. For example, a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT grants owners access to exclusive community meetups and parties, acting as a digital membership card. 

Utility NFTs will bring new popular ways to earn in 2023 in metaverses, phygital (digital-physical blended experiences), and through brand new approaches. 

Data ownership and sharing

Another web3 application that saw growth in 2022 is the decentralisation of data ownership and sharing. Web3 returns power to users by granting them the full right to their online data and allowing them to monetise it on their terms rather than letting giant online companies profit from it.

A platform like Permission does this by allowing users to earn tokens by choosing to interact with commercial brands through ads and other content forms. Swash takes a different approach by selling users’ non-sensitive browsing data and redistributing the profits back to them as crypto tokens. 

Social and content creation

Web3 is also revolutionising social media and content creation by removing the tech giant intermediaries between creators and their audiences. As a result, online creators fully control their content, including its monetisation. 

Content creators can easily post to their audience and get paid directly for it. This is how the Web3 blogging platform Hive Blog works; creators earn tokens based on audience upvotes and interactions on their posts.

Lens Protocol also helps users create their decentralised social networks where the audience can pay or subscribe to access the content. 

What the future holds

Web3 is still a budding sector, meaning we will see various trends come and go. This year has already brought some opportunities, and we have discussed some noteworthy aspects of the space that we believe you can take advantage of by earning from. 

Some of these trends are far from polished and perfect, and are still on the fringes of mainstream adoption. But at web3earner, we strongly believe in their growth potential in the coming years.