Teens are putting 'Fortnite' virtual money 'V-Bucks' at the top of their holiday wish lists

If you're unsure what to get the young teen in your life for the holidays, you may want to put away the gift cards and cash in favor of spending money for the ever-popular video game "Fortnite."

A survey of thousands of teens found that, for the first time, one of their most-requested gifts for this holiday season are "V-Bucks," the virtual in-game currency used in "Fortnite: Battle Royale." The annual report on teens' holiday wish lists, from analyst firm Piper Jaffray, also saw another newcomer — cryptocurrency, the " money of the future."

"Fortnite," a multiplayer-last-man-standing type game, has exponentially grown in popularity since its Battle Royale mode launched in September 2017. The game's creator, Epic Games, recently told Business Insider that "Fortnite" has amassed more than 200 million registered accounts.

While the game itself is free to play, players can use V-Bucks to purchase cosmetic items and unlock features in "Fortnite." Yet the digital currency is a hot commodity — players spend more than $200 million a month on V-Bucks.

Read more: How big is 'Fortnite'? With more than 200 million players, it's now equal to nearly two-thirds the US population

Players can earn currency by playing "Fortnite," but the rate of return is pretty low. V-Bucks can be bought within the game — the going rate in $10 for 1,000 V-Bucks. To put it in perspective, an outfit for a "Fortnite" characters usually costs between 500 and 1,500 V-Bucks.

Epic Games

The popularity of the game — and its minimum user age of 12 — has unfortunately made "Fortnite" players targets for scammers. Thousands of websites have popped up, luring in players with promises of free V-Bucks in order to access users' personal information.

The easiest way to buy V-Bucks as a gift is going to be with a gift card for whatever gaming console your gift receiver uses — Xbox, PlayStation, etc. Players can redeem gift cards in the system's devoted store for "Fortnite" V-Bucks.

The list of most-requested items this holiday season also features popular technology products from Apple, including iPhones, Watches, MacBooks, and Airpods.

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