I haven’t really played mmos since around 2010. But as far as i know, there was always pay for gold and items for sell. It was waay more sketchy though. I played wow and a bunch other when i was a teen. I played with my older sister, and she paid for shit in every game we played. Underground selling had been a thing since the beginning of online games. Btw microtransactions have stolen money from farmers and botters that sold items and gold for profit.