Investing gamification took a hyper-leap at the latest Korea Blockchain Week held in Seoul from September 21 to 27.
One of the side events, Perp-DEX DAY, was a live e-sport style spectacle where competitors traded perpetual futures — a type of cryptocurrency derivative.
It’s a new prospect for gaming and entertainment, but despite the declarations of financial revolution by some online and social media commentators, it’s unlikely to reshape finance — or be a wise investing strategy for most people.
A DEX is a decentralized exchange (DEX), which is a peer-to-peer marketplace that allows direct transactions between crypto traders in tokens for various cryptocurrencies, but not in fiat currency (aka national currency).
A perp-DEX is a DEX for trading perpetual futures on-chain, which means the trades are managed and settled on a blockchain using smart contracts — computer programs that automatically perform actions such as crediting a trader’s account after a trade.
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Highly entertaining for the audience, highly risky for the traders
Organized by REboundX with UmbrellaX DAO, the invite-only Perp-DEX DAY was held at the SJ. Kunsthalle, an arts and cultural center in Seoul’s Gangnam District, and was open to 400 live spectators.
In addition to the interactive exchange-specific trading competition, it featured copious physical and on-chain swag offerings, exchange mission booths, interactive demos, exchange pitch sessions and a DJ-led afterparty.
While seemingly an entertaining gaming event, it was also a demonstration of six different perp-DEXs.
Seated in front of massive screens, each trader was part of a carefully chosen team. With real capital at stake, they competed in front of the live audience for the highest spot on the leaderboard by growing their portfolio the most in the allotted time. LED displays showed their real-time profit and loss, while commentators narrated the action.
This type of trading may appeal to a specific subset of tech-savvy traders. But just as most weekend poker players don’t move to the professional leagues, the capital at stake and the risks involved in a timed trading competition make it unsuitable even for otherwise talented traders.
Moreover, since this type of trading is heavily dependent on luck, it’s essentially gambling and comes with the same potential for loss, abuse and addiction.
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The pros and cons of gamified investing
The growing use of game elements in fintech and banking reflects an extreme embodiment of the broader trend toward gamifying personal finance and investing, as financial institutions increasingly use game elements in their apps to attract, engage and retain users.
They may also use social techniques such as leaderboards, leader trade copying and social stock promotion to encourage more trading.
These gamified apps can be beneficial, offering a convenient and often inexpensive way for people to begin investing. They can also encourage people to save more through automatic contributions to their investment accounts.
But, like many gamified apps, they can become addictive for some people, potentially encouraging them to trade more than if they were using more traditional investing methods and possibly take more risk than they would otherwise.
It’s also possible that the use of gamified apps could reduce the due diligence that normally goes into assessing security purchases or sales. These are all actions that can cause individuals to lose money.
For instance, a study published this year in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance found that “nudges” can “significantly amplify risk-taking,” although a higher level of financial literacy helped to reduce this effect (1).
Another study from the Ontario Securities Commission found that individuals who saw stocks promoted in a social feed or those who had the option to copy the moves of a top trader would trade more in promoted stocks (2). This may mean they’re trading in stocks they haven’t researched and may not suit their risk tolerance.
If you need to brush up on your financial literacy to protect yourself from the impacts of gamification, the The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) offers a wide range of free and accessible tools, workshops and online resources through its national financial literacy programs, while the Canadian Securities Administrators publishes guides and investor education materials aimed at helping Canadians understand markets, risk and how to evaluate financial products.
If you’re just getting started, you may also want to consider working with an advisor who can help you set goals and understand your risk tolerance. If you choose to go it alone, keep in mind that multiple studies show that most day traders lose money and the majority of investors will be better off in the long run with a buy-and-hold strategy (3).
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Article sources
We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.
Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance (1); Ontario Securities Commission (2); Current Market Valuation (3)
This article originally appeared on Money.ca under the title: Crypto traders go head-to-head in South Korea’s live-stream event — is gamified investing the next big thing?
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.