Crypto Platforms Engineered To Feel Like Gambling, Which They Are

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Just as casinos rely on frequent betting rather than user success, crypto platforms often profit from volatility and volume, not from helping users make profitable investments.

When speculation becomes survival

Financialization refers to how more and more parts of economic and social life are shaped by the rules and priorities of financial markets. This includes everything from retirement planning through to investment accounts and student debt treated as a bet on future income .

In this context, crypto appears as a logical extension. It offers users a sense of financial agency amid widespread precarity. For people excluded from traditional finance or disillusioned with institutional systems, cryptocurrency promises access, autonomy and even transformation. The user is cast as an entrepreneur of the self, navigating risk in hopes of reward.

But financialization also intensifies inequality. Those who already hold capital benefit from systems of compounding return. Those without are urged to“get in early” and speculate on tokens and“HODL” through downturns, often bearing disproportionate risk.

Crypto exchanges work within this system. They are not just neutral tools for trading. The platforms are built to pass risk onto users while collecting the value for themselves. As users keep trading, the platforms earn money from every move. The more people trade, the more the platforms profit, whether users win or lose.

Crypto platforms are designed to be slick and encourage repetitive use. Kanchanara / Unsplash, CC BY Gamblification: Turning risk into play

Gamblification is the process by which non-gambling activities adopt the esthetics, mechanics and psychological appeal of games of chance.

Gamblification is a crucial lens for understanding how crypto exchanges maintain engagement even as users incur losses. In our study we show how features like real-time leader boards, visual effects and meme-based communities frame trading as a communal and entertaining experience. Even major losses are shared and circulated with humor and irony.

This framing helps to create a culture whereby failure is interpreted not as a structural outcome but as part of the“game.” Risk-taking becomes a badge of honor; the trader becomes a“degen ,” a term that ironically valorizes self-destructive investment behavior.

In this environment, addictive patterns are reinforced and financial losses are recast as participation in a broader social experience.

Crypto platforms benefit from this cultural phenomenon. By making high-stakes speculation feel like a game, they increase convenience and encourage sustained activity. This is not accidental; it is an engineered dynamic that drives volume, visibility and, ultimately, revenue.

The double bind of crypto platforms

When financialization and gamblification come together, they produce a structure that resembles casino capitalism . Users are drawn into high-risk behavior not only through deception but through systems that offer freedom and participation while extracting value from their activity.

The result is a contradictory user experience. On one hand, users feel empowered: they are making choices, pursuing gains and participating in a cultural moment. On the other hand, they are participating in systems that profit most when users lose. The language of innovation, autonomy and financial revolution obscures this structure.

Our research suggests that this isn't just a metaphorical resemblance to gambling. It is a structural one. Cryptocurrency platforms are built to monetize user risk in ways that closely parallel casinos. They rely on opaque systems, asymmetric information and engagement loops that benefit the platform regardless of individual user success.