In this episode: Dylan Abruscato, creator of Crypto the Game, shares how he turned a childhood dream into the most viral crypto experience of 2024. From a non-technical founder’s perspective, Dylan reveals the secrets behind building an interactive survival reality show that had 700+ players competing for 71.6 ETH in Season 3.
What You’ll Learn:
- How to build viral crypto experiences that people actually want to share
- Why Dylan chose Ethereum over other chains for payments and community
- The evolution from Season 1 (mainnet) to Season 3 (Muni Chain)
- Revenue strategies: entry fees, NFT royalties, and brand partnerships
- Non-technical founder insights and finding the right co-founders
- Why crypto rails make gaming experiences better than traditional payments
Key Highlights:
- Season 3 winner took home 71.6 ETH (~$200k)
- 410 players in Season 1, bootstrapped with just 0.1 ETH entries
- Sponsors included Uniswap, Adidas, Wormhole, and more
- Acquired by Uniswap for continued development
- The pencil sketch that convinced technical co-founders to quit their jobs
Timestamps:
- 00:00 - Introduction to Crypto the Game
- 02:00 - Dylan’s crypto origin story and CryptoKitties
- 10:00 - Why choose crypto rails over traditional payments
- 20:00 - The two-month sprint to build Season 1
- 25:00 - Viral marketing tactics that made CTG trend
- 35:00 - Future of on-chain reality shows
- 45:00 - Scaling challenges and spectator experiences
- 50:00 - Bringing mainstream creators on-chain
About Crypto the Game:
A 10-day interactive survival reality show where players form tribes, compete in daily challenges, vote each other out, and battle for a massive ETH prize pool. It’s Survivor meets crypto Twitter — absolutely addictive.
About 10 Years of Ethereum:
Celebrating a decade of Ethereum by highlighting the builders, creators, and visionaries who made it possible. From DeFi to NFTs, from Layer 2s to gaming — we’re documenting the stories behind the revolution.
Connect:
- Dylan: @DylanAbruscato | Farcaster
- Crypto the Game: @cryptothegame_
- 10 Years of Ethereum: Twitter | Website
- Chinmay Patel: Twitter | Warpcast | Basket.farm
- Marvyn Paul: Twitter | Warpcast | Linktree
- Marvyn’s Other Podcast: Is This the New Internet