Recently, I was reviewing how the blockchain infrastructure landscape is moving in Asia, and there’s something I definitely cannot ignore. Beam, formerly known as Merit Circle, is weaving a pretty smart strategy in the SEA region and frankly is gaining ground in a way few saw coming.

The interesting thing is that Beam is not competing to build games directly. Instead, it positioned itself as the backbone of Web3 for the region, providing infrastructure that major projects need. They already have more than 100 projects connected through their SDK, which is quite solid considering how long they’ve been in this space.

Since migrating to Avalanche Subnet, the numbers have improved significantly. We’re talking about a 40% increase in transaction efficiency, which is no small feat. And the Merit Circle DAO has one of the most robust portfolios in GameFi, around $100 million or more. Strategic partnerships in Japan and Vietnam further solidified their position as leaders in infrastructure for SEA beam and the regional gaming ecosystem.

Now, the question floating around is whether Beam can really beat Immutable in the battle for players when 2026 arrives seriously. IMX has its own momentum, but SEA beam has something IMX is looking for: deep roots in Asia and a community that is already building on its stack. It’s a duel that’s definitely worth following closely in the coming months.