CryptoKitties

Ticketing will be a huge use case for NFTs — Gary Vee

May 24, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Popular entrepreneur and VeeFriends creator, Gary Vaynerchuck, shared his thoughts on NFT tickets, VeeCon 2024, cryptocurrency and blockchain adoption at VeeCon 2023.

Famous entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuck — also known as Gary Vee — is a long-time supporter and collector of nonfungible tokens (NFTs).

In May 2021, Vaynerchuck announced the launch of his VeeFriends NFT collection, which consisted of 10,255 unique tokens to give holders access to exclusive events.

Shortly after launching the VeeFriends collection, Vaynerchuck demonstrated the potential behind NFT tickets during VeeCon 2022 — a Web3-focused conference built around NFTs, pop culture, entrepreneurship and marketing. Attendees of VeeCon 2022 needed to hold at least one VeeFriend Series 1 NFT to access the event.

Based on the success of this model, Vaynerchuck moved forward with NFT-based tickets for VeeCon 2023, which was held from May 18–20 in Indianapolis, Indiana. The event organizers told Cointelegraph that VeeCon 2023 attracted almost 5,000 attendees, many of whom were VeeFriend NFT holders.

“I think ticketing will be a major case for NFTs. I want to be at the forefront of this,” Vaynerchuck told Cointelegraph.

Vaynerchuck elaborated on the potential behind NFT tickets, his thoughts on cryptocurrency, and what to expect from VeeCon 2024 during an exclusive interview with Cointelegraph at VeeCon 2023.

*Cointelegraph interviews Gary Vee at VeeCon 2023. Photo Credit: Deanna Wursta*

Cointelegraph: Why is VeeCon important for the Web3 community?

Gary Vaynerchuck: VeeCon is an incredibly important conference because it’s a place where people can come together in a human way rather than digitally. I think humans need this connection, and conferences are a great way to expand people’s ideas and relationships.

CT: Why did you choose to implement NFT tickets for VeeCon 2023?

GV: Ticketing will be a huge use case for NFTs. I think that, by nature, tickets are collectibles. For instance, if you were to go on eBay now and look at how many ticket stubs are being bought, you may be surprised. People love memories and holding on to certain things, which is why I think ticketing will be a major [use] case for NFTs. I want to be at the forefront of this.

CT: What can we expect for VeeCon 2024?

GV: We will continue to expand this pop culture business conference grounded in innovation, marketing and motivation. We will continue learning from what we did in previous years, and hopefully keep bringing positive and practical optimism. Also, I don’t think that VeeCon 2024 will be held in Indianapolis again since I like the idea of moving the conference to new cities.

*Gary Vee on stage at VeeCon 2023. Source: VeeCon*

CT: When did you start getting interested in the crypto and blockchain space?

GV: I started getting interested in 2016, as I saw some interesting NFT projects like CryptoKitties, which intrigued me. In January 2020, I started getting really excited about NFTs.

CT: What are your thoughts on cryptocurrency? Do you own any crypto?

GV: I actually own very little cryptocurrency, as almost everything I own are NFTs. I’m more of a collector by heart than a financier. I don’t get excited about finances, so I don’t own a lot of currencies in general. I am more of a baseball card collector and an art collector, which is what crypto represents for me.

CT: What excites you most about blockchain as a technology?

GV: The idea that the technology is entirely decentralized. I don’t think many people understand the concept of other people owning their data, so I think blockchain will be a big deal in the future.

CT: What are your thoughts on the current NFT market?

GV: The NFT market has dipped because there has been too much greed. People have been day trading, short-term thinking, and there has been no real affinity toward actual NFT collections.

It takes time to get people to care about something. Conferences like VeeCon allow me to get people to care about the VeeFriend characters and this collection, which is why this event really matters.

CT: What are your thoughts on the metaverse?

GV: Long-term, the metaverse excites me. But we are not there yet.

CT: Do you use a crypto wallet to store your NFTs?

GV: I use hardware wallets since I have a very substantial NFT collection, and I want to ensure maximum security. I’m also more of a custodial guy and believe that nobody should have access to my seed phrase.

CT: Any final thoughts?

GV: People love talking about patience and being passionate about things, and being in something for the long haul. Then they wake up a month later and start crying.

The VeeFriends brand is a 20-year marathon. If people don’t understand this, it’s okay. But the question then becomes, are you actually in this, or are you in it for the short-term money or clout? Is this a fad for you, or is it real life? For me, the VeeFriends brand and vision is extremely real-life and long-term.

How to play and earn in CryptoKitties

April 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based game where players can buy, sell and breed digital cats with unique attributes.

Reminiscent of Tamagotchi and Pokémon, the wildly popular digital pets and creatures of the 1990s, CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based game where players can collect, trade and breed digital virtual cats. CryptoKitties was the first Ethereum-based game, and its popularity underscored many of the network’s scaling issues.

This digital cat-breeding blockchain game caused quite a bit of congestion on the Ethereum blockchain, peaking in 2020. However, the game’s creators were able to address these issues.

What is CryptoKitties?

Launched in 2017, CryptoKitties was built by Dapper Labs, the company that uses blockchain technology to bring nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and new forms of digital engagement to fans around the world. CryptoKitties is also considered one of the world’s first-ever blockchain games.

In the game, each one of the digital collectible cats possesses a unique genome that determines its physical traits. Cats can be bred to create new virtual kittens and unlock rare “cattributes” or in-game cat features.

Is CryptoKitties an NFT game? Yes, CryptoKitties are unique, one-of-a-kind assets backed by NFTs, making them rare and valuable. They were built on Ethereum using the ERC-721 token standard, which allowed for the creation of unique NFTs.

CryptoKitties can be sold and traded, and cats with rare traits can fetch high prices. The rarest CryptoKitty of all time is the genesis cat, aptly named “Genesis” because it was the very first CryptoKitty hatched by the game’s creators. Genesis was sold in 2017 for 246.926 Ether (ETH), or around $119,328 at the time of selling. Ether has since appreciated, and so has the genesis cat.

How does CryptoKitties work?

Blockchain technology remains at the core of this game, but the unique CryptoKitties gameplay can be credited to its Genetic Algorithm (GA). The GA aims to mimic real genetic principles by structuring the smart contract code of each kitten like the DNA of actual living creatures.

Each kitty possesses its own digital genetic pattern, which in turn determines what type of offspring it will produce, in addition to its unique physical traits. This genome is stored in a smart contract, which is self-executing lines of code dependent on predetermined conditions.

Any two CryptoKitties can be bred together and produce offspring with their own distinctive cattributes. The immutable genotype stored in the smart contract likewise determines this new kitty’s phenotype. The GA mixes the code from both CryptoKitties to create new kittens, with the split between the parents varying every time they mate. This allows for unique kittens to be produced each time.

The game’s main premise is that players have to breed and sell their cats, which will allow them to earn ETH, especially for rarer cats. Generation and Cooldown are two crucial features of the game — both are necessary to understand which cats to purchase and breed during the selection process.

First, Generation determines how many generations a kitty is from its original parent. New Generation 0 kitties were released every 15 minutes during the first year of CryptoKitties. These kitties have no offspring yet, so if two Generation 0 kitties breed, they will produce Generation 1 offspring.

The Generation of each offspring is always one number higher than that of its parent from a higher generation. For instance, if a Generation 3 and a Generation 9 breed, their offspring will be Generation 10. This information can be found below each kitty’s photo, abbreviated as “Gen.”

Cooldown refers to a kitty’s breeding pace, such that a kitty with a lower cooldown will have a shorter breeding time. Kitties from higher generations will also have high cooldown rates. Both Generation and Cooldown affect the price of CryptoKitties, as these will determine how desirable they are on the market.

Can you play CryptoKitties on mobile?

Those looking to explore CryptoKitties gameplay on mobile can do so through an HTC mobile phone, which exclusively carries the United States mobile app of CryptoKitties.

Technically, however, players looking for information on how to play CryptoKitties on Android or iOS devices can simply access the mobile version of the website through a mobile browser. However, serious players looking for a dedicated app can currently only do so via an HTC phone.

How to get started with CryptoKitties

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to set up a CryptoKitties account to get started:

1. Create a MetaMask wallet

Players must first have an existing MetaMask wallet or create one. MetaMask will allow users to buy, sell and breed CryptoKitties. Once a wallet has been created, new users can proceed to the CyrptoKitties homepage, where they will be asked to link their MetaMask wallet upon clicking “Start” on the upper right-hand side of the screen.

2. Purchase Ether (ETH)

CryptoKitties can be purchased using Ether, which can, in turn, be bought from cryptocurrency exchanges, such as Binance and Coinbase. Ether can then be transferred to MetaMask to ensure that players have enough funds to purchase their CryptoKitties.

3. Create a CryptoKitties account

After connecting a user’s MetaMask wallet with CryptoKitties, they will be asked to provide their email address for important updates and key in a nickname they wish to use in-game. Players have the option to go through a basic “Kitten Class” tutorial where they will learn how to breed CryptoKitties.

How to play and earn in CryptoKitties

Once a player has successfully set up their CryptoKitties account, they can start playing the game. Below is a step-by-step guide on how to earn money playing CryptoKitties:

1. Buy CryptoKitties

Players can now view CryptoKitties for sale through the website or secondary NFT marketplaces like OpenSea. Offers can also be made to other players, allowing others to bid on cats even if they aren’t for sale. The owner can choose to decline or accept the offer. Each offer expires after three days.

New players have the option to purchase just one kitty to get started or buy a pair right away. If a player decides to purchase just one CryptoKitty, they can begin breeding it with a Sire from another player. If they purchase two CryptoKitties immediately, they can breed their cats for a much lower fee.

How much are CryptoKitties? Prices vary, but kitties may sell for as low as 0.001 ETH or as high as 600 ETH, maybe even more. Factors such as how rare a particular kitty is and how sought-after its cattributes are can affect the price it will fetch in the market.

2. Breed CryptoKitties

As mentioned, players can breed two of their own kitties together or breed them with a public Sire. It is best to breed kitties coming from the same generation to produce a kitty with a relatively low Generation as well.

To breed one’s own Kitties together, a player simply has to click on a kitty they want to assign as the “Sire” or the father. Then, click the “Breed” button and select “Sire with my Kitties.” Next, the “Dame” or mother cat can be selected to complete the breeding pair. To proceed, click “OK, give them some privacy” to allow the kitties to breed in peace.

To breed one’s Kitty with a public Sire, a player has to select a Sire from the marketplace and select the “Breed Now” option. They can then select a Dame from their own litter to form a breeding pair and then proceed with the option to give the Kitties privacy to breed. As previously mentioned, both options cost minimal fees in ETH, which goes to community-run bots and smart contracts.

3. Sell or Sire CryptoKitties

Once a player has produced new breeds of CryptoKitties, they can be put up for sale or Sired to the public. Each kitty in a litter will have “Sell” and “Breed” options, which will lead to auction pages.

Players can create a Siring auction by clicking “Breed,” which will put their Kitty up for Siring via the Siring market. “Sell” likewise creates an auction, setting the kitty up for sale on the marketplace. The player can select the starting price, ending price and auction duration.

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Blockchain tech is holding NFTs back because of these three design flaws

July 27, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Three design flaws in blockchain tech are holding the NFT sector back — and they need to be tackled for it to reach its full potential.

Years after CryptoKitties were released to the masses, the nonfungible token (NFT) sector is finally going places.

Coveted collectibles are selling for millions of dollars in some of the world’s finest auction houses. Top-flight soccer and basketball teams are releasing once-in-a-lifetime moments that fans cherish. Movie studios are starting to issue NFTs as memorabilia too, unlocking new revenue streams when they are needed most.

It’s little wonder that NFT-focused companies are attracting eye-watering valuations. Just take a look at Sorare, which is on track to secure a price tag of at least $3.8 billion through its latest funding round. Although there have been endless proclamations that a bubble is forming in this nascent space, big brands are convinced these assets have staying power. Let’s not forget the countless use cases for NFTs that have yet to be discovered, too.

Unfortunately, a dark cloud is hovering on the horizon — and it’s one that risks holding the NFT sector back. Right now, blockchain technology doesn’t provide anywhere near enough value propositions to motivate a user to own these crypto collectibles. If the market is going to proliferate — and attract everyday users — the industry needs to tackle three key design issues.

The thorny issue of ownership

Let’s imagine you own an NFT that represents a beautiful piece of artwork by a celebrated painter. In all likelihood, you would have paid a pretty penny for it.

But here’s the problem: That crypto collectible is completely worthless without the existence of the underlying asset it’s meant to represent. Right now, there is a huge cost to permanently store the high-resolution image data that gives such NFTs their value. The problem is exacerbated even further when you take videos into account.

Without the right incentives, blockchain nodes responsible for protecting these files may not function as they should, and this could cause NFT data to be lost irretrievably. It’s one thing to pay $1 million for a rare nonfungible token — it’s quite another to lose that investment because of circumstances that lie out of your control.

The best approach to solving this problem is to ensure that economic incentives are more widely distributed whenever NFTs are sold — beyond the token’s original creator, the seller or the marketplace facilitating the transaction. Nodes should be given a cut of the profits too.

Protecting content

Even if this design flaw is speedily addressed, others arise that could undermine the value of a rare NFT. At present, most content protection mechanisms used for digital assets are either nonexistent or weak. The data underpinning digital collectibles is typically stored on centralized file servers, which increases the likelihood of hacking — or exclusive data being shared illegally.

For an NFT to be truly valuable, only its owner should be able to see and enjoy the data that’s contained within. Implementing digital rights management, or DRM, would help to protect an investment, and it could help assuage some of the concerns surrounding what marketplaces are actually selling. This approach wouldn’t be too dissimilar to the approach that Apple took when it launched its iTunes Store, adding DRM to music to ensure that it was rightfully the owner’s track and nobody else’s.

Ownership bound to identity

Last but by no means least, we need to reflect on the fact that NFTs cannot be exchanged — and this means that once they’re lost or stolen, the damage is permanent.

If nonfungible tokens are going to become a dominant force in the coming decades, we need to create a mechanism where NFTs can be inherited — allowing coveted digital assets to be passed from one generation to the next. We shouldn’t bind the ownership of an NFT to a private key — instead, a blockchain should tie these rights directly to someone’s identity. This will help future-proof this asset class and ensure that control is never lost.

We already live in a world where information is lost at alarming rates. Millions of web pages — filled with vivid stories, photos and videos — have already been taken down and lost forever. To let the same thing happen to NFTs would be a travesty.

Now is the time to act. The NFT industry is still at an early phase, and sweeping improvements can be made before we advance to mass adoption. Failing to tackle these design flaws could ultimately stymie the size of this industry years down the line and cause sizable headaches for those who have invested in tokens worth more than houses.

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Phantom Seokgu Yun is the CEO and chief scientist of SWN Global. He has over 25 years of experience in cryptography, algorithms and security architectures. Phantom has provided security solutions to Davos and G20 summits, LG, Samsung and Yahoo, among other multinational corporations. He currently leads the MetaMUI CBDC and NFTs platform, the first identity-based blockchain.

Calling the crypto space ‘a very masculine area,’ Mila Kunis launches NFT project

June 18, 2021 Coin Telegraph

animations

Following a deep dive, the actress said she found the crypto space to be "really empowering," which led to the creation of the Stoner Cats animation.

An actress famous for her roles in That '70s Show and Family Guy, Mila Kunis has now launched an animation on the blockchain, which developed from an interest in crypto during the pandemic.

Speaking with comedian Conan O’Brien on his Thursday show, Kunis said she had done a deep dive into cryptocurrencies and nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, during her time in quarantine. However, she was seemingly concerned about the apparent dearth of women in the space.

“I felt like it was a very masculine area — like everybody that I knew that knew anything about it at the time was always a man and I was like ‘this can’t be that hard,’” said Kunis. “I just deep dived into it and surrounded myself with two incredibly smart women that know everything about it.”

The actress said she spoke with women behind the Facebook-backed Libra, now Diem, token project. After learning more about crypto and its role in a decentralized marketplace, Kunis said she found the whole crypto space to be "really empowering," which led to her new NFT project, Stoner Cats.

Partnering with CryptoKitties founder Mack Flavelle and CryptoPoops NFT creator Jonathan Howard through their recent endeavor Big Head Club and others, Kunis described the Stoner Cats project as allowing crypto users to buy NFTs featuring images of cats sometimes drinking and smoking marijuana — recreational cannabis has been legal in California since 2016. The token then allows them to “watch a five-minute long piece of entertainment.”

“Everybody just did [the project] because they thought that it was different and fun and we all wanted to do it for the right reasons,” said Kunis, who voices one of the cats. “It brings ownership of content back to the artist and cuts out the middleman.”

The price of the tokens is not yet listed, but NFT offerings from celebrities have often netted millions in sales. Canadian musician Claire Elise Boucher, better known as Grimes, auctioned off her own line of NFTs in March — users paid $5.8 million for the tokenized artwork in 20 minutes.

According to Kunis, the cat NFTs will be available by early July.

India’s largest crypto exchange launches NFT marketplace after 2,000% token surge

April 6, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

India’s WazirX has launched an NFT marketplace for the exchange of digital assets. The launch comes after a strong month for the exchange’s in-house WRX token.

India’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, WazirX, has launched a nonfungible token marketplace for the exchange of digital art, assets, intellectual property and more, reports India’s Economic Times.

The launch comes hot on the heels of a month when WazirX’s in-house exchange token, WRX, gained almost 2,000% in value, as its price jumped from $0.27 to $5.66. The exchange itself was subject to the same trajectory during the past six months, as visitors to its website increased by 631%, according to information publicly available browser tools.

WazirX founder Nischal Shetty celebrated the launch, which he claimed was the first of its kind in India, saying: “We are delighted to launch one of India’s first NFT marketplace. Since our inception, we have been at the forefront of innovation and empowered our customers with value-added offerings.”

Creating and listing NFTs will reportedly be free on the platform, and work is apparently underway to negate the bedrock gas fees that accrue when minting NFTs on various blockchains.

“As of now, we are working around certain nitty-gritty to make NFTs more lucrative for our customers,” said Shetty.

NFTs emerged in 2017 as non-serious collectible tokens in the form of the then-popular Crypt oKitties. Their utility and fanfare remained somewhat muted in the following years until they exploded in popularity again in December 2020, when prominent artists, sports stars and celebrities began maximizing their potential as marketing tools. In just a few short months, major corporate brands like Gucci have begun exploring the use of NFTs in their fashion wear industry, and over half a billion dollars worth of NFTs have changed hands already.

The launch of the NFT platform by WazirX comes despite strong indications from Indian government officials that there could be a blanket ban issued on cryptocurrency possibly as early as this year.

What is CryptoKitties?

How does CryptoKitties work?

Can you play CryptoKitties on mobile?

How to get started with CryptoKitties

1. Create a MetaMask wallet

2. Purchase Ether (ETH)

3. Create a CryptoKitties account

How to play and earn in CryptoKitties

1. Buy CryptoKitties

2. Breed CryptoKitties

3. Sell or Sire CryptoKitties

The thorny issue of ownership

Protecting content

Ownership bound to identity

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