CryptoKitties: A Pioneer in Ethereum Gaming and NFTs

If you’re familiar with Pokemon cards, CryptoKitties is like their digital version that got viral soon after their launch. In 2017, San Francisco and Vancouver-based design studio, Axiom Zen released an Ethereum blockchain-based game that breed, sell and buy digital cats. Within a few weeks of launch, CryptoKitties became a viral sensation, taking the tech world by surprise. As a result, CryptoKitties raised about $1.3 million within its initial release days alone. And so far, they have managed to surpass $1.2 million already in 2021. 

What are CryptoKitties?

CryptoKitties was one of the foremost and a highly publicized example of NFT technology, also known as Non-Fungible Token. Although it started out as an edutainment way to familiarize new users with blockchain technology, the game attracted way beyond just the fans of popular trading card games. At its zenith, CryptoKitties attracted over 14,000 active players on a daily. Moreover, the game pushed the Ethereum blockchain technology amongst frontline gaming industry names. 

CryptoKitties features a very cool ERC-721 token standard-based unique NFT coding technology, that allows the reality of “genes”. These genes were the determining factor behind the appearance of the kittens and often they were passed along to their offspring, as well through “breeding”.

Today, CryptoKitties is accessible across the expanding Ethereum ecosystem. Including both Ethereum based-games and platforms, such as Heaven.cat, Decentraland, and KotoWars. All you need is a browser (either chrome or firefox), a cryptocurrency wallet, for instance, MetaMask or Dapper, and lastly, ether (ETH) to cover the trading charges, as well the fees.

How do CryptoKitties work?

Each CryptoKitty is an NFT. Also known as, ERC-721 token. Therefore, similar to non-fungible tokens, CryptoKitties are also unique and indivisible. The kitties are only accessible on the Ethereum blockchain as of now, indicating their rarity. Hence, their underlying code makes sure their validity is unique. Smart contracts help Ethereum track the CryptoKitties. They also control their distribution and verify their ownerships. Additionally, they keep track of the Kitty genes and make possible the sale and breeding auctions. 

Moreover, the core contract behind CryptoKitties keeps track of the ownership transfers and authorized siring. The smart contracts carry out the execution of each auction held for breeding, selling, and buying at the cost of a transaction fee. The CryptoKitties tokens are practically immortal now due to the fact that they exist in a blockchain network, specifically the Ethereum blockchain –  and will continue to be active and be transferred easily, even if the CryptoKitties website shuts down (which is of course, highly unlikely.)

Not only did CryptoKitties popularize the blockchain landscape, but it also advanced the Ethereum blockchain in particular. As soon as their launch in 2017, the game was an instant hit. However, due to its over-popularity, the Ethereum network faced congestion for a couple of days because of CryptoKitties’ high volume of transactions. Nevertheless, this problem highlighted innovative solutions to manage the transactions on Ethereum and inspired the scaling solutions that now serve as the pillars for blockchain ecosystems and their development. 

What you should know about purchasing CryptoKitty?

Firstly, you will need to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. As previously mentioned, MetaMask and Daffer are great options. After you successfully set up your wallet, head over to the CryptoKitties marketplace to explore kitties for sale. Each kitty comes with a name, bio, and price (ETH). Additionally listed are the kitties’ unique genetic traits, wittily called “cattributes” such as eye color, shape, sometimes fur. This determines their appearance. Cataloged along is the generation indicating when their generation year. 

Early generation kitties tend to be worth more. In fact, the first 100 kitties generated are famously called the Founder Cats. They are the Gen 0 NFTs and are valued the most. Founder Cat number 87 got sold for more than $80,000 in the peak of 2017. While, recently in 2021, Founder Cat 84 was sold for over $64,000. Next are virgin cats. As the name suggests, these are the kitties that have never been bred to form any offspring. However, a dragon cat with unique features has been the highest-recorded sale to date, at $172,000.

Simultaneously, if you like a kitty and want to purchase it, hit “buy now”. However, you can offer the present owner of the Kitty and make an offer and the owner can choose whether to accept it or not. Once you come to an agreement, you can proceed to gain ownership of the kitty by trading the required ETH.

Conclusion

NFTically is a Non-Fungible Tokens trading platform. On NFTically, in just a few minutes,  you can open your store. NFTically allows minting, selling as well buying options. All you require is to set up a wallet, build your collections, put in your NFTs (which can be an image, song, video clips, etc.), and at last, list those NFTs up for sale.