The latest CryptoKitties fad taking over the Ethereum network is perhaps one of the most surprising developments in the cryptocurrency industry. However, this cute and light-hearted concept could soon pose serious threats to the Ethereum network, as the sheer demand for them is stifling the network.
The team behind Crypto kitties even addressed the growing issue using their Twitter account by stating:
https://twitter.com/CryptoKitties/status/937444644740198400
CryptoKitties is the first ever game to appear on a blockchain network. Unlike most Ethererum tokens that run on ERC20 code, Cryptokitties relies on non-fungible ERC721 code. Essentially, a user can sell, buy, breed, or trade virtual cats that hatch from eggs. The cats also differ in value; the rarer a specific cat is, the higher its price. According to reports, users have spent more than $1 million in total on their virtual kitties, with the most expensive kitten being the Genesis kitten, which cost 246 ETH ($11,300).
This latest fad has taken the crypto community by storm and is being dubbed the Beanie Babies of the crypto world. Similarly to CryptoKitties, the rarest Beanie Babies were later sold for up to thousands of dollars. However, eventually, the Beanie Baby market collapsed, which begs the question whether CryptoKitties will experience the same fate.
Despite their undeniable cuteness, CryptoKitties pose a serious threat to the Ethereum network. Currently, CryptoKitties-related transactions account for 15% of Ethereum’s total computations and are affecting the network's scalability, as well its capability to process transactions. If the network plans to continue CryptoKitties, or perhaps even launch other similar apps, their infrastructure will need to be expanded in order to support all transactions.
The root of the problem, as with most other cryptocurrency networks, is the issue of scalability. The scalability issue caused a divided Bitcoin community and could perhaps cause similar issues in the Ethereum network if left unaddressed.
The CryptoKitties craze has caused a severe congestion on the network and has led at least one initial coin offering (ICO) to postpone their campaign.
With the increase in ICOs across the world, Ethereum has become the network of choice for a large portion of ICO campaigns. Which perhaps makes the latest CryptoKitties fad all the more alarming. However, some users pointed out that its useful for Ethereum’s weaknesses to be revealed now, before the network was even more strained under additional ICOs and more transaction processing demands.
However, the cryptocurrency industry is still relatively in its infancy, which means that Ethereum may very just still be still experience growing pains. Crypto kitties could perhaps prove to be a historical turning point for the network in its discovery to find more viable methods to address scalability concerns.
At the moment, the creators behind Crypto Kitties have increased the kittens' birthing fees in hopes of alleviating network congestion. Hopefully, this latest crypto fad proves to be a learning curve for Ethereum developers and users alike.
The team behind Crypto kitties even addressed the growing issue using their Twitter account by stating:
https://twitter.com/CryptoKitties/status/937444644740198400
CryptoKitties is the first ever game to appear on a blockchain network. Unlike most Ethererum tokens that run on ERC20 code, Cryptokitties relies on non-fungible ERC721 code. Essentially, a user can sell, buy, breed, or trade virtual cats that hatch from eggs. The cats also differ in value; the rarer a specific cat is, the higher its price. According to reports, users have spent more than $1 million in total on their virtual kitties, with the most expensive kitten being the Genesis kitten, which cost 246 ETH ($11,300).
This latest fad has taken the crypto community by storm and is being dubbed the Beanie Babies of the crypto world. Similarly to CryptoKitties, the rarest Beanie Babies were later sold for up to thousands of dollars. However, eventually, the Beanie Baby market collapsed, which begs the question whether CryptoKitties will experience the same fate.
Despite their undeniable cuteness, CryptoKitties pose a serious threat to the Ethereum network. Currently, CryptoKitties-related transactions account for 15% of Ethereum’s total computations and are affecting the network's scalability, as well its capability to process transactions. If the network plans to continue CryptoKitties, or perhaps even launch other similar apps, their infrastructure will need to be expanded in order to support all transactions.
The root of the problem, as with most other cryptocurrency networks, is the issue of scalability. The scalability issue caused a divided Bitcoin community and could perhaps cause similar issues in the Ethereum network if left unaddressed.
The CryptoKitties craze has caused a severe congestion on the network and has led at least one initial coin offering (ICO) to postpone their campaign.
With the increase in ICOs across the world, Ethereum has become the network of choice for a large portion of ICO campaigns. Which perhaps makes the latest CryptoKitties fad all the more alarming. However, some users pointed out that its useful for Ethereum’s weaknesses to be revealed now, before the network was even more strained under additional ICOs and more transaction processing demands.
However, the cryptocurrency industry is still relatively in its infancy, which means that Ethereum may very just still be still experience growing pains. Crypto kitties could perhaps prove to be a historical turning point for the network in its discovery to find more viable methods to address scalability concerns.
At the moment, the creators behind Crypto Kitties have increased the kittens' birthing fees in hopes of alleviating network congestion. Hopefully, this latest crypto fad proves to be a learning curve for Ethereum developers and users alike.