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Created in 2017, CryptoKitties is one of the world's first blockchain games built on Ethereum, and once accounted for 25% of all volume traded on the blockchain. The game is centered on collecting virtual cats. You can buy, sell and breed Kitties, each defined by its own rare attributes.
With an estimated 1.5 million users, CryptoKitties has made some headlines and set precedents in blockchain gaming — and it's still rolling hard today.
CryptoKitties highlights
One of the first crypto games
Built on Ethereum
Supports most ETH digital wallets
Need ETH to play
Buy, sell, collect and breed unique cats
What is CryptoKitties?
CryptoKitties is a blockchain-based breeding game, built on Ethereum. There aren't any quests or playable modes with this game; you play to collect digital cats, trade with other collectors and you can breed your male and female cats together to create new generations.
The first-ever CryptoKitty was created in December 2017. At its launch, first-generation Kitties were "born" every 15 minutes and no more than 50,000 would ever be created. These CryptoKitties are referred to as Generation-0 and are considered the rarest and most valuable of the virtual cats.
However, developers started a breeding option as a new way to create CryptoKitties. Players can take a female Kitty (Dame) and a male Kitty (Sire) and put them together to breed for a fee.
CrytoKitties are nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which are one-of-a-kind digital assets that when traded could mean a loss or gain in value. NFTs are publicly verifiable on a blockchain, allowing owners to prove ownership through cryptographic signatures.
Purchased with ETH, each CryptoKitty is unique and can't be replicated, creating scarcity and increasing the value of especially rare and fancy CryptoKitties. At the time of writing, around 2,000,000 CryptoKitties exist.
Playing CryptoKitties
Playing CryptoKitties revolves around collecting, buying, selling and breeding your cats.
As a web-based game, you're required to use a Web 3.0 digital cryptocurrency wallet. These often come in the form of an extension for your web browser. CryptoKitties recommends using MetaMask, but it supports most digital wallets. Use our MetaMask guide for an easy installation.
Once your wallet is ready and you have it funded with ETH, head over to the CryptoKitties website to get started.
Create your CryptoKitties account. Select the Start button at the top right corner to begin creating your account.
Confirm your account details. Create a nickname and fill in your email address. Check out the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, too.
Connect your wallet. When connecting, the game requests a signature, which is digital confirmation that the game can interact with your wallet. Any removal of funds requires a second signature.
Get some Kitties. To unlock some features, you need to own Kitties, so click the Get your first furry friend! button to see what's for sale.
Breeding CryptoKitties
If you have a male and female Kitty, you can breed them together when you access your Litter. There is also a flat fee of 0.008 ETH for breeding.
If you only have one Kitty and want to breed it, follow these steps:
Search for Sires. On the main landing page, select Search and on the dropdown menu choose Siring. Some Sires will be free to breed, while others, like the rarer Kitties, charge a fee.
Select a mate. Once you choose a CryptoKitty Sire, check its Cattributes, such as the cooldown period. If you like the look and its features then it's time to complete the breeding process.
The cooldown characteristic is the time a cat needs between breeding periods. Every Kitty is born with its own cooldown period which depends solely on its generation. The lower the generation, the lower its cooldown period. However, every time a cat breeds, its cooldown period gets longer.
During breeding, Dames (mothers) get to keep the newly born CryptoKitty, so if you have a Sire (father), you won't get anything. However, if you have a rare Sire, you might be able to charge a siring fee for breeding with it.
What is CryptoKitties' token?
CryptoKitties doesn't have its own, unique native token. You need ETH to buy and sell the game's NFTs on the CryptoKitties marketplace.
How to buy CryptoKitties token
Playing CryptoKitties requires ETH, and luckily, ETH is one of the most common cryptocurrencies out there. It's available on multiple cryptocurrency exchanges such as Crypto.com, Gemini, Binance.us, and FTX.us.
To buy crypto from an exchange, you'll need to create an account with an exchange, verify your identity and complete know your customer (KYC) requirements, then deposit funds to purchase you're desired cryptocurrency. Or if you own another cryptocurrency, you can swap it for ETH.
We've listed a top exchange to buy ETH.
It looks like ETH may not be available to purchase on an exchange in the US.
You can still purchase ETH by using a decentralized exchange (DEX) instead. Decentralized exchanges are web applications that run on blockchains like Ethereum and allow users to trade any asset directly with one another.
Decentralized exchanges (DEX) are unregulated and run using autonomous pieces of code known as smart contracts. To use a DEX you must interact with the blockchain directly, which is not recommended for novice users. Please learn about decentralized exchanges first if you're unfamiliar.
How to purchase ETH using a decentralized exchange.
Find ETH on a decentralized exchange and make sure ETH can be traded for ETH which is the native asset of Ethereum. Popular DEXs include Uniswap, SushiSwap and 1INCH.
Buy ETH to trade for ETH using an exchange like
Gemini. You will need to purchase enough ETH to swap for ETH as well as ETH to pay for transaction fees on the Ethereum network (known as gas). You can use a service like Etherscan to get an idea of how much gas fees currently cost.
Trade ETH for ETH on the DEX of your choice, following the instructions on screen. Make sure to leave enough ETH in your wallet to pay for gas.
Wait for the transaction to finalize and the ETH tokens will arrive in your wallet.
You may now keep the tokens in your web 3.0 wallet or transfer them somewhere more secure like a hardware wallet.
You can follow the same process when you want to sell your tokens, or come back to this page to see if they can now be traded on an exchange in the US.
How does play-to-earn work with CryptoKitties?
Earning with CryptoKitties is primarily done by breeding and selling cats. CryptoKitties notes that this game is first and foremost a collector's game, and warns players to have realistic expectations stating that this game is "not an investment portfolio or get-rich-quick opportunity."
CryptoKitties highlights three ways players can earn:
Breed. Players can study Cattributes and pair Kitties together to create rare and unique new cats to sell on the marketplace.
Trade. Buy and sell cats in hopes to earn. This can involve keeping a close eye on the market to get rare and pricey cats.
Fancy chaser – Fancy cats, or Fancies, are special cats with unique artwork. They're limited edition, and have breeding limits to create scarcity. A Fancy chaser may be an expert in locating or breeding these special cats to sell on the marketplace.
Image source: Fancy cats - CryptoKitties
What are the CryptoKitties NFTs?
The Kitties are the CryptoKitties NFTs.
To browse the Kitties for sale, head to the marketplace accessible on the CryptoKitties main site. Prices vary depending on the unique set of Cattributes each Kitty has, its rarity, utility, and appearance. Some secondary NFT marketplaces also feature CryptoKitties, such as OpenSea.
CryptoKitties are sorted into four rarities: Normal, Fancy, Special Edition, and Exclusive. The cats are also sorted by generations created through breeding.
It all started with 2 Generation-0 Kitties that bred and produced a Generation-1. Most recently, Generation-16 Dames and Generation-16 Sires were bred to create the latest Generation-17 CryptoKitties.
The technology behind CryptoKitties' unique attributes is called the Genetic Algorithm. These algorithms are implemented through smart contracts built on the Ethereum blockchain.
When breeding new CryptoKitties, the algorithm generates a new binary number code (mixed 1s and 0s) that determines the new cat's attributes — from their eye color and facial expression to their fur patterns.
Similar to real-world genetics, the newly created Kitties have similar features to their parents, along with a few changes. The rarer the Kitty, the more valuable the breeding can be later on.
How to buy NFTs on CryptoKitties
To buy an NFT kitty, you need to create a CryptoKitties account.
Next, under Search on the top navigation bar of the site select For Sale. When you find a Kitty you like, click on the image to see its Cattributes. Below the Name of the owner section, click the Make offer button.
The details of transaction fees and the estimated total cost pop up in a separate window. You can make an offer on any Kitty — even if it's not for sale. The owner has three days to accept or decline your offer.
The offer amount is held in escrow for one day and developers take a 3.75% fee. Expired offers don't incur a fee.
The cheapest Kitties start at 0.005 ETH, or around $12, at the time of writing. For the more valuable Kitties, prices can range from 100 to 1,000 ETH (equivalent to hundreds or thousands of dollars).
Or, you can head to a secondary marketplace and browse Kitties there, like OpenSea.
Other crypto games and NFT projects
How to sell NFT CryptoKitties
To sell one of your cats, go to your Litter and choose the Kitty you want to sell. You'll see options for Sell and Breed.
Select Sell and you're redirected to a page to create an auction. You select the starting price, ending price and the duration of the auction.
Selecting Breed lets you set up your Kitty for a Siring auction, where other players can use your Kitty to breed on the Sire market. Some users let players use their Kitties for free, but charging a fee is an option if a Kitty is especially rare.
About CryptoKitties developers
Dapper Labs is the Candian studio behind CryptoKitties, known as the first-ever application built on blockchain technology — but this isn't the only major project Dapper Labs is responsible for.
Dapper Labs also created the NFT marketplace NBA Top Shot, an officially-licensed NFT marketplace featuring NBA "moments" (video clips of historic moments in basketball history). Dapper Labs also created the Flow blockchain, and another blockchain app called Cheeze Wizards, a "blockchain battle royale with cheese."
Roham Gharegozlou is the CEO and co-founder of Dapper Labs. He's currently on Fortune's 40 Under 40 list at age 32. Gharegozlou is also the former CEO of Axiom Zen, a venture studio that created ZenHub, Routific, Timeline and other startups.
CryptoKitties roadmap
CryptoKitties has been out since 2017, so development has slowed down significantly. However, the roadmap notes that there's a campaign with a "world-renown" band in the works, but offers no other information. It lists a teaser image, but that's it.
Image source: CryptoKitties
Bottom line
CryptoKitties is a pioneering game for the cryptocurrency sector. The developers took blockchain tokens to the next level by making a game out of collecting virtual cats.
The blockchain provides a breeding ground for owning a digital asset that's unique and attractive. It's easy to understand why it congested the Ethereum network when it first appeared.
Although it lost some of its original popularity, it spearheaded the NFT movement and remains attractive for people interested in collecting one-of-a-kind digital assets.
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Bethany Hickey is a personal finance writer at Finder, specializing in banking, lending, insurance, and crypto.
Bethany’s expertise in personal finance has garnered recognition from esteemed media outlets, such as Nasdaq, MSN, Yahoo Finance, AOL and Newsweek. Her articles offer practical financial strategies to Americans, empowering them to make decisions that meet their financial goals. Her past work includes articles on generational spending and saving habits, lending, budgeting and managing debt.
Before joining Finder, she was a content manager where she wrote hundreds of articles and news pieces on auto financing and credit repair for CarsDirect, Auto Credit Express and The Car Connection, among others.
Bethany holds a BA in English from the University of Michigan-Flint, and was poetry editor for the university’s Qua Literary and Fine Arts Magazine.
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Image source: Fancy cats - CryptoKitties
Image source: CryptoKitties
