on the crypto
CryptoKitties was the first game built on the Ethereum network. Players buy, trade and breed adorable digital cats. But the game's popularity has highlighted several problems with Ethereum's functioning, especially when it comes to scalability.
How Do CryptoKitties Work?
CryptoKitties are non-fungible tokens, originally built on the Ethereum blockchain (here the quotation of ETH) using the ERC721 token standard. Prior to the existence of ERC721, tokens on blockchains were fungible or interchangeable; any Bitcoin or Ethereum token was identical to any other.
ERC721 allowed the creation of unique and non-fungible tokens. CryptoKitties was originally designed to explore the concept of digital finiteness, using smart contracts and ERC721 tokens.
Each CryptoKitty is unique and has its own digital genome, stored in a smart contract. Two CryptoKitties can be played; using a genetic algorithm, offspring with unique traits (or “cattributes”) is produced.
How do you buy a CryptoKitty?
To purchase a CryptoKitty, you will need a computer or mobile device, a cryptocurrency wallet such as MetaMask and an amount in ETH. So, all you have to do is go to the CryptoKitties market, create an account, choose a cat you like and click "buy now". You can also bid on a CryptoKitty not for sale, but it is up to the owner to decide whether to accept or not.
How do I breed CryptoKitties?
To create your CryptoKitty cattery, all you need is a breeding pair. The bull will need a short recovery period after breeding, which increases after each litter.
The lady will not be able to reproduce during the incubation of your new kitten. Alternatively, you can breed one of your cats to a public bull, which will incur a small transaction fee.
CryptoKitties: born on Ethereum, now on Flow
CryptoKitties was originally built on the Ethereum blockchain. Within a week of launching the game, CryptoKitties covered 13% of all transactions on Ethereum. The total sales volume of CryptoKitties amounts to over 61.000 ETH ($ 21 million) as of October 2020.
The popularity of CryptoKitties quickly became a problem for the Ethereum network, which could only process a few transactions at a time. Breeding CryptoKitties has become so popular that it prevents other companies working on the platform from being able to quickly verify their transactions. In May 2020, CryptoKitties announced it was moving to its own dedicated blockchain, Flow. The move will allow for several new features for the game
The future of CryptoKitties
CryptoKitties is the first step in creating crypto-collectibles, a new digital product format that can be traded online. At first, CryptoKitties struggled with scalability, but the move to a new blockchain has helped develop this entirely new industry.
CryptoKitties creators Dapper Labs have big ambitions for their blockchain platform Flow, which has already raised $ 11 million in investment and has the support of Warner Music Group and video game publisher Ubisoft. They have also signed deals with the NBA and Animoca brands to bring the properties of their crypto-collectibles to the Flow blockchain.
