FinTech Magazine February 2020 | Page 46

EXPENSIVE HATS , CATS AND CRYPTO LOOT
PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
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EXPENSIVE HATS , CATS AND CRYPTO LOOT
Virtual goods - everything from powerful weapons to Hello Kitty robes for your wizard - are already a $ 50bn industry . However , a gamer that shells out money for an item doesn ’ t really own that item . If they delete the game , or have their account frozen , or any number of other issues , that asset is gone forever . For the last few years , companies like Forte and Animoca have been working to use blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies to turn these pixelated designs and files into permanent assets .
Remember earlier when I mentioned the $ 100,000 cartoon cat ? Well , we ’ re back to that . Launched in December 2017 , the game CryptoKitties is ,

“ Libra has a mission to enable a simple global currency and financial infrastructure that empowers billions of people ”

Libra Whitepaper according to TechCrunch , “ essentially like a digital version of Pokemon cards but based on the Ethereum blockchain .” The game allows users to use Ethereum , one of the leading cryptocurrencies , to purchase a digital cat with certain genetic traits . By breeding that cat with other digital cats , you create new , even cuter ( or usually weirder ) looking cats and
FEBRUARY 2020