Economy
One in Three Willing to Quit Job to Play NFT Games—Research
NFT gaming platform, Balthazar, has released its inaugural Community Insights Report, which found one in three respondents (32%) said they will quit their job or consider quitting if they could play NFT games full time.
Of the 1,103 respondents who are predominantly from the Philippines, this figure includes those who currently play NFT games and those who don’t yet play.
A further 59% said they would play full-time and continue working other jobs.
Other interesting findings include;
Over two-thirds (65%) of respondents said they would need to earn a minimum of $42 on average to consider quitting their job to play NFT games full-time. More than half of which (55%) said they would need to earn between $1 and $20 per day to afford to quit their current job to play.
Out of those who have jobs, they earn $316 on average per month or about $16 per workday.
The majority (85%) of those who are Balthazar Wizards (who are signed up to Balthazar’s scholarship program) said they play in a guild because they love the community support and learning that is offered to them.
While 69% said they also can’t afford to buy the NFT assets needed to play, and 32% said it’s more fun than playing on their own.
Asked why they chose Balthazar, 70% said it’s because of the opportunities to earn more money, as well as 63% for the ongoing support and 67% said it’s more engaging than other guilds.
Many people in the Balthazar community rely on play-to-earn games as their primary source of income, as 69% of respondents are not working (many of which are students). Less than one in three (27%) said they have one job while 3% said they have more than one.
63% of the respondents said they support at least one other person financially, of which 5% said they financially support 6-10 people.
Over half (52%) said they have used their game earnings for basic necessities and personal needs such as food, housing and bills, while 19% said they have used it for education expenses.
“I’m not surprised by these findings because, just like us, our community is incredibly excited about the future in NFT gaming and the potential earning opportunities offered through Balthazar. They love play-to-earn games and many are ready to quit their other jobs to play NFT games instead, as they could potentially be earning the same, if not more from playing NFT games.
“There is something special about Balthazar’s community, as we bring a unique experience, unlike other guilds. We believe in creating a fun and nurturing community and we provide support and training as well as loads of fun initiatives.
“We believe that play-to-earn games will be the biggest disruptor in the crypto space this year, as well as the video game industry, as more gaming companies, crypto holders and traditional investors are investing in the space.
“I’m most excited about the redistribution of wealth from traditional gaming companies to people who need it most and into their economies. Gaming platforms like Balthazar are innovating in the metaverse, by not only creating token utility but also building a self-sustaining ecosystem allowing more people access to crypto,” the CEO of Balthazar, John Stefanidis, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Crude production under the collective Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC ) fell in May to its lowest level in at least 37 years as the blockade of Iran by the United States and disruptions in the Persian Gulf, continued to limit output.
According to a Bloomberg survey released on Friday, output from the organisation’s 11 current members, including Nigeria, dropped by 1.22 million barrels per day to 16.33 million barrels per day last month.
Iran accounted for more than half of the decline. The data excludes the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which departed the cartel last month after six decades of membership.
War between a US-Israeli alliance and Iran has reduced oil supplies from the Middle East, largely closing the Strait of Hormuz waterway. Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the UAE and Kuwait have been forced to cut crude production. Iranian shipments face additional pressure following a US blockade of its ports imposed in mid-April.
Iranian output fell by 710,000 barrels per day to a five-year low of 2.34 million barrels per day in May, the survey showed. Central Command reported that US forces have redirected 127 commercial vessels to enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports.
Kuwait recorded the second-largest decline last month, with production falling by 310,000 barrels per day to 490,000 barrels per day, less than one-fifth of pre-war levels. Saudi Arabia, the group’s leader, saw output decrease by 240,000 barrels per day to 6.57 million barrels per day.
The production reductions have not prevented OPEC and its allies from raising quotas over recent months, continuing a year-long process of restoring output halted several years ago.
This comes ahead of a meeting scheduled to be held on Sunday, June 7, where a sub-group of seven members is expected to increase targets by 188,000 barrels again in July. The session is one of four online meetings OPEC and its partners plan to hold that day.
Delegates indicated the alliance has plans for two additional monthly quota increases in August and September. UAE output rose by 300,000 barrels per day to 2.44 million barrels per day in May, according to the survey.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 third quarter Budget Implementation Report from the Budget Office of the Federation has shown that the federal government exceeded the funds allocation for repayment of debts for the first nine months of the fiscal year by about 18 per cent.
In a report by Punch, the sum of N10.74 trillion was budgeted for debt servicing between January and September 2025, but the government used N12.63 trillion for the purpose, N1.90 trillion or 17.65 per cent more than the allocation for the year.
The funds were spent on domestic debts, foreign debts and sinking fund by the central government in nine months.
Business Post reports that for the whole year, the amount approved by the National Assembly and signed by President Bola Tinubu for debt repayments was N14.31 trillion.
Looking at the nine-month figures, domestic debt service gulped N6.23 trillion, exceeding its N5.39 trillion provision, while foreign debt service was N6.30 trillion versus the budget provision of N5.06 trillion.
According to the report, the figures indicated that 67.2 per cent of the federal government’s retained revenue of N18.63 trillion was spent on debt service in the first nine months of 2025. When the sinking fund is included, debt-related payments consumed about 67.8 per cent of revenue.
It was also observed that aggregate federal government revenue underperformed the budget by N12.03 trillion or 39.24 per cent, as actual revenue of N18.63 trillion fell short of the N30.67 trillion projected for the first three quarters.
In the third quarter alone, the government generated N7.70 trillion versus the quarterly target of N10.22 trillion as a result of persistent oil revenue shortfalls, despite stronger non-oil collections.
The debt burden also crowded out capital spending, as total capital expenditure was N3.10 trillion in the first nine months compared with the N17.58 trillion budgeted for the period, indicating that actual debt-related payments were more than four times capital expenditure.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a loss of 1.13 per cent on Thursday, June 4, shrinking the market capitalisation by N30.03 billion to N2.630 trillion from N2.660 trillion on Wednesday.
Similarly, this brought down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 50.19 points to 4,396.08 points from the 4,446.27 points recorded a day earlier.
The loss was influenced by the overpowering of the bulls by the bears, after the bourse closed with two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slumped by N20.03 to sell at N190.38 per unit compared with midweek’s N210.41 per unit. Food Concepts Plc declined by 25 Kobo to trade at N2.50 per share versus the previous day’s N3.00 per share, and Acorn Petroleum Plc crumbled by 2 Kobo to end at N1.32 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N1.34 per unit.
For the gainers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc added N2.93 to close at N78.34 per share compared with the previous price of N75.41 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 80 Kobo to settle at N16.80 per unit versus N16.00 per unit.
There was a slip in the volume of transactions yesterday by 46.8 per cent to 280,714 units from 527,221 units, as the value of trades dropped 66.5 per cent to N21.8 million from the preceding session’s N64.2 million, and the number of deals fell by 8.7 per cent to 42 deals from 46 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 64.7 million units traded for N4.4 billion.
GNI Plc also finished the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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