In November 2017, at the peak of the first crypto bull market, a Canadian studio called Axiom Zen launched CryptoKitties — a game where users bred and traded digital cats on Ethereum. Each kitten was unique, represented by a non-fungible token (NFT), with a specific genetic code determining its appearance. Rare traits drove insane prices. One virtual cat, Dragon, sold for 600 ETH — over $170,000 at the time.
Within days, CryptoKitties was consuming 25% of Ethereum’s entire network capacity. Transactions were congested. Fees spiked. A game about cartoon cats had stress-tested the world’s second-largest blockchain and revealed its scaling limits. The mainstream media ran headlines about “digital cats worth more than real ones.” Most people laughed. A small group understood what had happened.
CryptoKitties was the proof of concept for digital ownership. The meme was the medium — cute cats made the concept approachable — but the infrastructure underneath was revolutionary. When the NFT boom arrived four years later, it was built on the foundation CryptoKitties had laid.
Leave a Reply