UK esports fans warming up to crypto, survey finds

Despite there effectively being a guarantee of backlash when an esports organization embraces cryptocurrency, a recent report reveals that UK esports fans are opening up to the technology.

The data: The results go against what the general sentiment seems to be in esports.

• The report comes from YouGov, which was published late in March, and collates results from continuously collected data and ongoing surveys.
• It shows that intent of purchasing cryptocurrency among esports fans in the United Kingdom has increased by 21% year-on-year. The proportion of esports fans in the UK that are "very likely, likely, or somewhat likely" to use crypto in the next 12 months rose from 47% in 2021 to 57% in 2022.
• However, intent among the general population is still much lower despite an increase of positive sentiment of 64% year-on-year. The report shows that 11% of the general public claimed they were likely to use crypto in 2021 and that grew to 18% in 2022.

The real thing: There are plenty of examples of how esports fans worldwide react to cryptocurrency's increasing presence in the industry.

• Organizations such as Fnatic and Misfits have had a rough time getting their fans to accept crypto and blockchain technology. There are plenty of other organizations that have received a barrage of disapproving responses upon announcing similar deals and initiatives.
• G2 Esports filed a lawsuit on March 16 that alleges its former blockchain partner Bondly misled the organization. The Berlin-based org is seeking damages of over $5.25M following the short-lived partnership.
• 100 Thieves received what can be reasonably considered as the only overwhelmingly positive sentiment around a crypto or blockchain announcement back in February. The project featured NFTs of a digital chain that celebrated the organization's LCS victory. It was given out for free and 100T made it clear that the item had the "same carbon impact as sending two emails."