Brandon Bryant: It’s game on for Handcash

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Today many online games have their own virtual currency. There’s V-Bucks on Fortnite or VC (virtual currency) on NBA2K. The currencies let you buy exclusive content or upgrades for that game. But they can’t be used outside of their own game. 

Supposing there was a virtual currency that could be converted easily to and from regular money and could be used across a wide range of games. It’s coming.

It’s called the Duro and it’s going to be marketed by the Bitcoin SV wallet Handcash.

So how does the Duro relate to BSV? Simple: one Duro is just the name Handcash is giving to one two hundred thousandth of a BSV. Or, to put it another way:

1 BSV = 200,000 Duros.

By giving a name to that size of unit, the numbers involved for very small transactions will be more user-friendly. So, for instance, if 1 BSV = US$160, then 10 Duros are worth 0.8 of a cent—the kind of money you can throw around buying something in an online game without having to worry too much.

On this week’s CoinGeek Conversations, Brandon Bryant, a software developer for Handcash, talks about how the Duro ecosystem will evolve and open access to a range of games, thanks to Handcash’s partnering with several BSV startups and with Built by Gamers, an existing esports business whose Taylor Searle featured on last week’s edition of the show.

So how will newbies find their way into the system? Brandon explains:

“You download a Handcash wallet—and soon we will have fiat rails inside of Handcash so you’ll be able to use Apple Pay or your preferred payment method to buy some Duros or some Bitcoin SV. “

Then it’s just a question of picking some games to try out:

“You’ll be directed to our app store and inside of the app store, you’ll find the Haste Arcade, the NFTY Jigs app and all the other apps that are using the Handcash SDK. And you’ll be able to connect to those apps, authorise payments—and you’re on your way.”

The difficulty of onboarding new users into the BSV ecosystem has long been seen as a limiting factor in widespread adoption of the many products and services available. Handcash has tried to make it as simple as possible: “The goal is to have the sign-up process in under a few minutes.”

And with Taylor Searle’s Built by Gamers’ users being encouraged to sign up to Handcash, the prospects for many new users have never looked so good:

“Handcash is launching a referral programme. So Built By Gamers has a huge firehose of audience and attention. And they’re going to point that at Handcash in this ecosystem. And in return, they’re earning a percentage of the profit from the top ups that those users that they refer get. So everyone’s economically aligned to just drive growth within the ecosystem.”

For game players, there’s more to the Handcash connection than just currency because they will also be able to trade virtual goods. Handcash is partnering with NFTY Jigs to support RUN tokens, so digital items and NFTs will also be transferable between games.

A relatively recent recruit to the Handcash team, Brandon says he’s impressed by the relentless focus that its founders Alex Agut and Rafa Seibane bring to the business:

“Rafa and Alex are experts at saying no.” But not in this case: “Handcash is really going after the esports industry and gaming and everything that comes along with that.”

Hear the whole of Brandon Bryant’s interview in this week’s CoinGeek Conversations podcast or catch up with other recent episodes:

You can also watch the podcast video on YouTube.

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