Tap-to-Earn Crypto Games

Tap-to-earn crypto games are basic clicker games in which players repeatedly tap their phone screen to earn points, complete tasks and invite friends, in the expectation that the points may later be exchanged for a cryptocurrency through an airdrop. Most run as mini-apps inside the Telegram messaging service and connect to the TON blockchain, whose native coin is Toncoin. The format became a craze in 2024, led by Notcoin and Hamster Kombat, each of which attracted tens of millions of players before launching a token. Tap-to-earn is a simplified offshoot of play-to-earn and GameFi, with little gameplay beyond tapping and referrals. Critics point out that token prices often fell sharply after launch, that rewards for most players were small, and that the games' popularity attracted fake copycat apps and scams.