During the pandemic, unemployment in the Philippines hit 40%.
Thousands of Filipinos without jobs—like Howard, pictured here—turned to blockchain-based online games as a way to make money.
Here's how it happened 👇
It started with Axie Infinity, a popular blockchain game with cartoonish creatures called Axies.
Axie is what’s called a play-to-earn game: if you win battles you earn a resource called Small Love Potion. You can exchange SLP for the cryptocurrency ETH & then convert to dollars.
This man used to drive a taxi, but he had no customers during COVID.
He started playing Axie and making up to ~$300 a month. For reference, minimum wage in the Philippines is about $170 per month.
The most important trend of our generation is the disaggregation of work.
In 2027, America will become a majority freelance economy for the first time.
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Young people today are skeptical of "traditional" career paths. Many watched their parents lose jobs during the 2008 financial crisis. Many lost their own jobs during the pandemic.
This skepticism is breeding a distrust of institutions and a backlash to centralized authority.
Millennials & Gen Zs don't want to "rent" time to a corporation or work within "the system".
They'd rather use their own hustle and savvy to dictate their own fortunes.