A Crypto Game Promised to Lift Filipinos Out of Poverty. Here's What Happened Instead

Samerson Orias was earning about 4,000 pesos a month (about $80, a little less than half the national minimum wage in the Philippines) making takoyaki—Japanese octopus balls. His friend told him he and others were pocketing up to $600 a month playing Axie Infinity, a game fueled by cryptocurrency and NFTs.

Orias, now 26, desperately needed an escape hatch from his financial woes: his mother had had a stroke and required medication, and electricity and grocery bills were stacking up. So he plunged into Axie, doing battle with cartoon monsters for hours deep into the night.


Read more about Axie Infinity in the Philippines: https://ti.me/3zxWQf6
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