NBA’s Stephen Curry Auctions Off Exclusive CurryKitties

CryptoKitties has partnered with Moji to create limited-edition Stephen Curry-inspired crypto collectibles called CurryKitties.

The crypto collectible game built on the Ethereum blockchain announced the release of three exclusive Kitties created in the likeness of the two-time MVP and NBA Champion. They are Steph Fur Three, Chef Curry, and #30 Curry.

One of the three CurryKitties—Steph Fur Three—is currently up for auction on the official CryptoKitties website with a buy-now pricing of around 97.136 ETH or around US$73,500. The fate of the other two CurryKitties is in the hands of the Golden State point guard.

Blockchain Meets Sports

With an NBA superstar and global celebrity on board, CryptoKitties hopes that sports fans will get interested in the technology behind it: blockchain. Roham Gharegozlou, CryptoKitties founder, said on Twitter:

“We started CryptoKitties to bring decentralization to the mainstream. Today the world’s greatest ball player joins our movement. Meet #CurryKitties, the first ever sports collectibles with ownership and authenticity secured by the blockchain.”

Creating limited-edition sports crypto collectibles would attract avid sports fans and memorabilia collectors. Rare baseball cards, for example, can generate up to US$3.12 in auction houses. That is how much a T206 Honus Wagner card was sold in 2016.

CryptoKitties pointed out multiple forgeries of the card that can fool buyers. CryptoKitties stated on its website:

“There are 50-200 T206 Honus Wagner cards in existence. Attempted forgeries are common, with a water test clarifying authenticity.”

CryptoKitties aims to solve through blockchain technology and its decentralized nature the problems collectors can experience with material collectible cards, stating on its website:

“When we launched CryptoKitties, we wanted to showcase an application for blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency. To accomplish this, we pioneered the concept of cryptocollectibles…Sports collectibles like baseball cards have gone through booms and busts, with overproduction and forgeries always catalyzing the busts. Blockchain technology solves issues like these with digital scarcity and provable authentication…We want to show you. And that’s why we partnered with Steph Curry to create the first officially licensed sports cryptocollectible.”

Because the data on the blockchain is always public, buyers will know the exact number of CurryKitties on the network. With different nodes verifying each transaction done, buyers will be assured that the CurryKitty is genuine. Users conduct businesses through the Ethereum blockchain, where the absence of middlemen in the blockchain makes transactions faster and cheaper.

CryptoKitties hopes that that demonstration can educate people about the capabilities of blockchain technology, starting with sports fans.

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Digital Kittens on the Rise

CryptoKitties, one of the more successful blockchain-based games, lets users take care of and breed unique digital cats. Other users can put their CryptoKitties up for auction, with the highest one on the market currently priced at 100,000 ETH or around US$75 million.

Since it launched last Nov. 27, 2017, CryptoKitties has attracted more than 1.5 million users. Last March, CryptoKitties developer Axiom Zen raised US$12 million through venture capital funding. On how they would use it, CryptoKitties posted on their blog:

“We envision a world of play, one without limits. Where ownership is real, and the things you create and discover, you can keep forever. Where games can be entire economies, unlocking mutual incentives for players and builders to extend the gaming experience. Where the world is built by everyone who chooses to be part of it, especially you.”

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