PurposeThe purpose of this research is to explore the nature of virtual tipping in live game streaming from the perspective of tippers.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative research involved six naturalistic group interviews with 27 young adult game streaming tippers in China.FindingsThe research revealed a typology of four virtual tipping exchanges – perfunctory exchange, transactional (commodity) exchange, relational (gift) exchange and hybrid exchange. The most notable finding is hybrid exchange, a synergistic hybrid of transaction and gift-giving.Practical implicationsThe authors recommend that both streamers and streaming platforms acknowledge and accommodate both transactional and relational tipping motivations. The authors also recommend platforms to recruit skillful streamers with high emotional intelligence to better convert perfunctory tippers into tippers who tip more generously.Originality/valueThe result of hybrid exchange suggests going beyond the traditional commodity vs gift dichotomy to examine the potential market-gift complementary in a single exchange in the sharing economy.