Near the end of 2017, the cryptocurrency world was treated to a project known as CryptoKitties. Issuing unique virtual cats on the Ethereum blockchain proved to be a pretty interesting concept. Sadly, it also crippled the network for several days, but that was only to be expected. Ethertanks is a similar project with a slightly different approach, as it is more of a game than an investment.
Ethertanks is the Next big Thing
Although the Ethereum network is still recovering from the onslaught brought upon it by the CryptoKitties, people are already moving onto the next thing. It is evident that gamifying blockchain technology has the potential to be huge. Some of the simplest browser-based games have attracted millions of players throughout the years. Combining this concept with blockchain technology is well worth looking into. The big question is whether or not Ethereum will be able to handle this load moving forward.
Ethertanks is the new kid on the block in this regard. It is a browser-based game which runs on top of the Ethereum blockchain. Users can purchase tanks from its website and have these digital assets transferred to their Ethereum wallets in real time. It sounds pretty simple and perhaps somewhat bland at first, but there’s a lot more to the concept of Ethertanks than one would assume.
More specifically, every tank bought is also an investment opportunity. Anyone who purchases this tank after you did will earn you a small kickback. No one should expect to become a millionaire right away, mind you, but it’s nice to see some of the earnings being shared with the people who make Ethertanks popular. There’s also a marketplace – set to go live on January 7 – where users will be able to buy, sell, and upgrade their tanks. Additionally, it’s another revenue stream, which players will certainly appreciate.
Unlike CryptoKitties, Ethertanks is about more than “breeding” and trading assets. It has a set of mini-games in which players can participate using their purchased tanks. This battle aspect will not go live until January 14, yet it seems pretty interesting despite the lack of information. Letting players battle one another would certainly be interesting, although it remains unclear if such a feature can be successfully implemented on top of the Ethereum blockchain.
As one would expect, the Ethertanks project is also attracting some negative attention. Many people feel it is a Ponzi scheme, even though it remains to be seen if there is any truth to that. To their credit, the project’s developers took community feedback regarding a code bug to heart and patched the vulnerability pretty quickly. With a limited “supply” of up to 121 different tanks, it is evident there is some sort of scarcity involved as well. New tanks are introduced when the existing supply is purchased a set amount of times. It will be interesting to see if the smart contract can handle this aspect of Ethertanks without too many problems.
In the end, it is good to see innovative projects like Ethertanks come to market. We can only applaud the team for coming up with a new version of CryptoKitties which offers a bit more interactivity. Whether or not people will remain interested in this type of project is anybody’s guess right now. Grabbing someone’s attention is one thing, but holding onto it is something else entirely. This is especially true in the world of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
