NFT Ultimate Guide: The Most Expensive Crypto Kitties
The advent of blockchain technologies, and the rise of the Ethereum network, opened up numerous use cases for ERC-20 standard and other tokens. The 2018 era was best known for the ICO boom, but it was also a time of great innovation and experimentation with the capabilities of the blockchain. Numerous industries were affected by the encroaching development and use case application of smart contracts, and the gaming industry was not left aside.
The gaming industry is one of the biggest and most dynamic in the world, developing at breakneck pace to keep gamers engaged and their interest and involvement peaked through the release of new titles across desktop and console platforms. But the lack of true innovation and the slow incorporation of interactive technologies like AR and VR has been hitting the gaming industry of late. That, coupled with the lackluster performance of top titles, has led to the development of decentralized games, one of which was the CryptoKitties project – a pioneer in blockchain-based gaming.
Since its inception, CryptoKitties has attracted immense attention from the decentralized community and garnered an immense following. But that is not all, as the most expensive CryptoKitties have been sold for considerable sums. As CryptoKitties are most expensive as they gain prominence on the market the most expensive crypto kitty can be found trading rarely on the open market, and if it is, it will cost a pretty penny.
Who is Crypto Kitty?
As the name implies, CryptoKitties is a game about kitties – blockchain-based cats that are both cute and functional within the CryptoKitties game.
The game was developed by a Canadian studio called Dapper Labs back in late 2017 and was fielded in December, launching an unprecedented wave of interest that led to the clogging of the Etehreum blockchain as players scrambled to buy their Crypto Kitties. The game marks the first attempt at using blockchain technologies for gaming.
Each Crypto Kitty is unique, meaning that it is owned solely by its owner and used as such using smart contracts and the underlying Ethereum blockchain. No kitty can be transferred without the owner’s consent and its value can both rise and fall based on a number of factors. The players in the game can interact via their kitties by selling, buying, or siring, or breeding new kitties to produce new and rarer cats.
The breeding option is based on a 256 bit distinct genome with DNA and different qualities that make each cat unique, as is the case with real cats. The traits can be passed on to progeny with 12 characteristics describing each cat. These include their fur, their shape, eye color, fur color, the innate ‘purrstige’, and a secret attribute. Each generation of cat is superior to the preceding in terms of cool down timing and other options.
In mid-2018, the game reached a milestone of usage by surpassing the 1 million user mark and a trading volume of over 3.2 million transactions a day. To date, the game continues to function as enthusiasts are still playing the game and trading cats, ensuring liquidity turnover and the continued creation of new cats based on rarer and more valuable existing parents from previous generations dating back to late 2017.
List of Most Expensive Crypto Kitties
Since its launch in 2017, the CryptoKitties, the game has attracted some serious financing in terms of liquidity poured in by the users and some investors who have since purchased the parent company and launched its spin-off to develop the gameplay function and capitalize on its success.
Users have been left largely unaffected by the corporate developments of the company and have continued to buy and sell CryptoKitties. The following is a list of some of the most expensive CryptoKitties ever sold:
The Dragon CryptoKitty
The Dragon CryptoKitty is valued at around $1,344,555, or roughly 600 ETH. The description of the CryptoKitty reads as such “Salutations. I’m Dragon. I bit Rebecca Black when I was younger, but those days are gone. Believe it or not, spying on the neighbours is seriously exhilarating. You should try it some time. Let’s connect on ICQ.”
The Dragon CryptoKitty was the first CryptoKitty ever sold for over 600 ETH, marking it as the most expensive CryptoKitty ever sold. The explanation for the sale price given by the members of the community is that the owner had a deep connection with the cat and did not want to sell it that much, hiding the real reasons for the sale. Some, however, have said that the sale was just a means of money laundering, rather than personal affection.
The Founder Cat #18 CryptoKitty
The Founder Cat CryptoKitty was valued at $566,954, or roughly 253 ETH. The description of the CryptoKitty states “hissing noises! I’m Founder Cat #18. I enjoy tripping my owner, eating until I loathe myself, and reading garfield. When no one’s home, I invite my pals over and we listen to Rihanna. I look forward to riding unicorns with you.”
This is one of the most valuable CryptoKitties, since it is one of the first cats ever born in the game. As a Generation 0 cat, it is hard to find, since many of its peers were bred off to create offspring. The information on the CryptoKitty states that its owner is a user going by the alias ouou123.
The Founder Cat #4 CryptoKitty
The Founder Cat #4 CryptoKitty is valued at $107,000, with its description reading “Hey cutie! My name’s Fluffy Founder. I once peed on Princess Diana’s cat. They had it coming. I once got in a fight with a rooster, and won. Our friendship will be gullible, gorgeous, and full of ice cream.”
This is another Generation 0 cat that was sold for USD, rather than for a specific amount of ETH. The reasons for the purchase were never disclosed, but the user who owned the CryptoKitty goes by the alias ColonelKitty.
Other CryptoKitties that have been noted as the most expensive ever sold include a number of others that range from Generation 0 and ensuing generation CryptoKitties. The following is a list of some other expensive CryptoKitties:
First Edition Slush. This cat is a one-of-a-kind with its birthday stated as being on September 12, 2018. It is also a Generation 0 cat bred by a user going under the alias Dave. Among its special features is that it is exclusive and is the 1 millionth CryptoKitty born in the game.
Victoire is another one-of-a-kind CryptoKitty with its birthday stated as being on November 23, 2017. As another generation 0 CryptoKitty, it was bred by a user called COO, or CryptoKitties Founders. It is also exclusive and is currently owned by SoaS – a user who is not willing to part with it. Still it is currently being valued for about $3.1 million by current ETH exchange rates. The cat is cute and wears a soccer jersey, making it attractive for buyers from an aesthetic point of view.
Papacatuanuku is another unique cat that was bred on March 31, 2019. This is a Generation 2 cat bred by Doofenshmirtz Lab and currently owned by a user called Krakitten. It is the 1.5 millionth cat to be bred in the game and there is a very small chance of it being bred, since the limit is determined by Felono and Hinecatone breeding abilities.
MegaFlowtron is another rare CryptoKitty that is unique and was bred on November 23, 2017, as a Generation 0 cat by COO, or CryptoKitties Founders. The current owner is KittyCat007 who was given the cat as a reward for having bred Shiny Flow Rangers and then the rest of the collection.
Conclusion
The CryptoKitties game is still popular, despite showing its age and lack of mechanics that set modern decentralized games apart as more functional and interactive. Though more of a collectible game than an actual game, the CryptoKitties project is extremely important in decentralized space for having showcased the capabilities of blockchains for the release and operation of games. This makes the CryptoKitties important assets that also paved the way for the implementation of Non-Fungible Tokens as value carriers and transmitters of information on the blockchain for solidifying ownership data and protecting users against the duplication of unique assets.
The CryptoKitties in the game are also important value-generators as their uniqueness makes them rare, thereby applying the law of supply and demand, which affects their price and makes them good assets as potential investments. The prices for which some of the CryptoKitties are being sold are good evidence of their value-generating characteristics.
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