The wider world · 76 / 86
Gaming, play-to-earn, and DePIN
Play-to-earn pays players in a token. DePIN says physical machines, like hotspots or sensors, will be paid in a token. The payout usually depends on new buyers of that token.
The words
The game or the hardware is real enough to cost you money. The reward is a market. When the market leaves, the wage leaves, and the items or machines remain as costs.
How it ends
Emissions pay early users. Later users need a higher token price. The price needs new money. When new money slows, the wage collapses.
A job that only pays in its own coin is the company printing the payroll.
Check yourself
If you earned the token in a game, have you earned spendable money?
Only if someone will buy it at a price that covers your costs.
After this you can ask who buys the reward token, besides the people earning it.