Blockchain technology is suited for many different purposes, although the vast majority of use cases have yet to be explored. The new CryptoKitties project shows there are unique ways of combining the concepts of breedable and collectible cats with blockchain technology. While it wasn’t clear there would be sufficient interest in digital cats, the success has been pretty surprising so far.
CryptoKitties is Taking the World by Storm
On paper, the concept of collecting breedable digital cats doesn’t make much sense. Why would anyone prefer to own a digital cat instead of a real pet? Then again, when the Tamagotchi was introduced many moons ago, that technology took the world by storm as well. People simply love being responsible for something, especially if it takes a digital form.
This is where the CryptoKitties project comes into the picture, as it provides the next generation of digital pets to the world. More specifically, this is a game centered around breedable and collectible creatures known as CryptoKitties. There is only one type of each cat, which makes them even more collectible than any other digital “pet” we have seen in the past. Users who purchase digital cats will be the only owners of their animal until they decide to either sell or give them to someone else. Again, we’re not talking about digital entities linked to actual cats, but a pure digital made-up animal.
Since this is one of the first games to be completely built on blockchain technology, it is also of great interest to the cryptocurrency community. Rather than having to deal with physical cards which must be bought at a store – and risk purchasing duplicate cards – this project is done entirely differently. Every CryptoKitty is issued on the blockchain, completely unique, and fully transparent. Owners can purchase their CryptoKitty by spending Ethereum, for which they will receive ownership of the digital cat in return.
However, that is not all there is to CryptoKitties. For every two cats one purchases, one can effectively breed an entirely new cat in return. Since this new type of cat will be completely unique as well, there are a ton of different combinations possible. Breeding with CryptoKitties could quickly become a lucrative venture, to say the least. There is also an active marketplace where people can buy and sell CryptoKitties, which is well worth checking out.
Considering that some of these CryptoKitties are being sold for a large amount of Ether right now, it is evident this new market will get a lot of attention in the near future. Whether or not there will be long-term interest in this project is a different matter altogether, though. It is only a matter of time before we see clones of this project associated with different animals. There are plenty of creative individuals to be found within the cryptocurrency community; that’s for sure.
All things considered, the CryptoKitties project is just one example of how cryptocurrency and blockchain technology can be used in a creative way. We will see more unusual projects pop up in the years to come, as the number of opportunities is virtually unlimited. Whether or not anyone will still be breeding CryptoKitties in a year or two from now remains a big mystery.
