We have seen multiple allegations that cryptocurrency is in a bubble. Some experts even refer to this industry as being “worse than tulip mania”, even though that seems to be overstating things a bit. It was only a matter of time until we saw some tulip-oriented ICOs or blockchain projects pop up. After the Tulip ICO a few weeks ago, EtherTulips have now been born as well. It’s another copy of the CryptoKitties idea, although one that will probably get far less attention.
EtherTulips is Another Interesting Concept
Since most people seem to think cryptocurrencies are a variation of the tulip mania, it only makes sense to buy, sell, and trade tulips on the blockchain. In this particular case, we are talking about virtual tulips which can be traded on the Ethereum blockchain. It is important to distinguish between this project and the Tulip ICO, which is something else entirely. EtherTulips is a different spin on the infamous CryptoKitties project which essentially crippled the Ethereum blockchain for some time.
With this new project, anyone in the world can get in on the new virtual tulip mania. It is doubtful this project will raise as much money as people made during the 17th-century tulip bubble, but one never knows how things will play out in the world of virtual assets. Each individual EtherTulip will reside on the Ethereum blockchain at all times, where they can also be bought, traded, and even battled.
Additionally, every EtherTulip is completely unique, which means there can never be two of the same tulip. This does create a sense of “collecting different types”, even though it is evident these EtherTulips will not be worth much in a few months from now. After CryptoKitties and the virtual tanks game, we now have EtherTulips. It is only a matter of time until another one of these “games” comes to market. The business model seems to be working surprisingly well so far.
To adhere to tulip mania standards, the price of every EtherTulip will grow exponentially. Every day, these tulips will become nearly 50% more expensive than they were the day before. Early investors will win out as a result, assuming they can find someone else who wants to buy virtual tulips. At the time of writing, the marketplace to trade these EtherTulips was not yet completed, but it should only be a matter of days until that feature goes live. The battling system isn’t available yet either, but that isn’t entirely surprising.
With so many similar projects taking place right now, it is evident the creators of these platforms stand to make a lot of money. After all, they are the ones raking in the money until the marketplaces become available. One point that remains unclear is whether or not one can use their existing EtherTulips and “breed” new flowers over time. It doesn’t appear this is possible, but all similar projects have had such an option. Breeding new tulips would certainly make things a lot more interesting.
It is evident there is a growing market for projects such as EtherTulips. The one worry is that we’ve seen a lot of similar projects pop up in quick succession. It is only a matter of time until people get tired of these platforms, which could reflect badly on Ethereum as a whole. Moreover, these projects have a tendency of creating massive amounts of network transactions which subsequently flood the Ethereum network. Ideas like these are great, but they can also become an inconvenience.
