OKX — one of the largest crypto exchanges by trading volume — launched OKX Racer, a free-to-play Telegram mini-app game challenging players to guess bitcoin’s price movements in five-second intervals.

OKX is the first major centralized crypto exchange to release a Telegram mini-app, capitalizing on a trend that has seen the messaging platform (which boasts some 900 million users) become a popular portal to play tap-to-earn games like Hamster Kombat, Notcoin and Yescoin — potentially earning crypto via the TON blockchain.

Following these simple clicker games, OKX Racer is also a straightforward concept. It offers players a choice whether bitcoin’s price will “moon” or “doom” in the next five seconds, according to a statement shared with The Block. The more a player guesses correctly, the more points they earn, with multipliers on offer for consecutive wins. Players can also earn referral rewards and use points for in-game upgrades, the firm said.

"Telegram's mini-app platform is quickly becoming a can't-miss venue for those looking to engage the crypto community. At OKX, we want to embrace easy-to-use, interoperable and accessible platforms that cultivate communities, incentivize participation and encourage fun,” OKX Chief Innovation Officer Jason Lau said. “OKX Racer is our first foray into Telegram Mini-Apps, and we hope it's a hit for users and a value-add for the growing community."

While OKX did not clarify what, if any, incentive model exists for OKX Racer, the incentive to play these games is generally driven by the expectation of an airdrop to points holders for game-related tokens launched on TON, a blockchain closely linked with Telegram. Notcoin airdropped over 80 billion TON-based tokens to its players in May, for example.

OKX Racer is not the first game based on bitcoin’s price movements. For example, the Solana-based derivatives betting platform Hxro launched a very similar bitcoin trading game on whether its price would go up or down over a five-minute interval in 2019.

Last week, Telegram CEO Pavel Durov announced plans to bolster its blockchain initiatives by introducing a mini app store and an in-app browser with web3 support. "2024 will go down in history as the year when hundreds of millions of people became familiar with blockchain. We're proud that Telegram is at the epicenter of this societal transformation," Durov posted on his Telegram channel at the time.