The blockchain gaming craze has dried up in China

China’s tech giants launched crypto pets games in the vein of CryptoKitties, but they no longer exist after burning investors

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In CryptoKitties, each cat has a unique look. But is something valuable just because it’s unique? (Picture: CryptoKitties)

Masha Borak

Published: 9:00am, 19 Aug 2019Updated: 9:11am, 20 Sep 2019

This article originally appeared on ABACUS

When CryptoKitties launched in 2017, it kicked off a craze for blockchain-based games that allowed people to buy and sell virtual animals.

There are now more than a million virtual cats available across various blockchains. And not just cats: There are digital dogs, cyber bunnies, crypto alpacas, frogs and robots, many of which are now abandoned remnants of one of the fastest technology boom-and-bust bubbles the world has seen.

Chinese tech companies were quick to capitalize on the trend, but the biggest games wouldn’t last long. Many players who sunk their hard-earned cash into collecting digital pets got burned when the bubble popped.

Lured by aggressive promotion and promises of becoming a millionaire, Mr. Dong transferred US$14,200 to buy virtual pigs on a game called Bit Pig. In late July, however, he found that the platform no longer worked and his investment was gone, according to a WeChat post from the internet police in Shanghai’s Pudong district.

At its peak, the hype drove thousands like Mr. Dong to invest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain-based projects. The technology, based around a tamper-proof distributed ledger, found its way into every industry imaginable, including gaming.