Is Ethereum Killer App on its Way?

When discussing digital currencies it is always important (and often no so easy) to remember that they are, like their name says, primarily a digital phenomenon. This means that like most other ventures in the digital realm, like digital devices, social media or eSports, their popularity, and accessibility is propagated by the experience they can provide to the general public.

The more exciting this experience is, the more likely is that other people will first hear about it and then decide to try it out for themselves. Out of the second category, all of those who like their first try will become customers and users in some shape and form.

This process has been able to advance the consumer popularity of many things, both physical objects like smartphones, but also purely informational products, like software. Yet, there is a single moment when the same digital phenomena skyrocket in popularity and it usually comes through something that is called a killer app.

This term mainly represents a use of a hardware that is new on the market but which got its killer application. This means that it attained some novel use that has not been seen before and which really excites the customers. In gaming, exceedingly popular releases were called killer apps when they included some new tech.

For example, first planetary popular games that came on CDs made a lot of users buy CD players for their computers. Today, the term has evolved beyond this basic idea and covers any new development in a product’s ecosystem that makes a lot more people think about getting it.

Interestingly, it seems to many analysts that the ethereum network might have got its killer app. At the same time, the form of the app is completely unexpected and it comes under the name CryptoKitties.

The CryptoKitties App

The name of this app is completely outside of the otherwise generally very serious blockchain and digital currency domain, but its relevance should not be taken lightly. This powerful app utilizes the ethereum network for creating a new brand of blockchain-produced assets – digital collectibles.

Launched just recently, CryptoKitties did not waste any time before it became one of the most popular ethereum apps. In fact, its popularity led to the creation of CryptoPuppies for those who prefer dogs and CryptoPets for users to choose any digital animal they want.

While some in the crypto community are somewhat skeptical about this trend, including those who are completely dismayed by it, others see this app as an unlikely trailblazer. For them, this path of thinking and developing apps could become one of the biggest applications based on this blockchain network.
Transfer of Ownership

Not all voices are skeptical about CryptoKitties and their overall concept. In fact, some of the leaders of the blockchain space, including Charlie Lee who is the creator of litecoin and CEO of Earn.com Balaji Srinivasan, all agree that apps like this are actually very important.

The main reason for this is the fact that they promise the application of blockchain with the purpose of instantly transferring ownership of any kind of asset without the need to involve a third party. This ability is one of the features of blockchain that makes it such a revolutionary technology.

It is also a less known that a new range of very consumer-friendly blockchain applications are just around the corner. Today, digital currencies like bitcoin are used for a range of purposes, including betting on online casinos and general purchases, just to name a few. Yet, all of these are actually financial transactions taking place outside of the regular fiat currency environment.

A new application of blockchain is different in the sense that there are no direct monetary applications. Also, the assets being transferred between users have some inherent value because of their scarcity, but are still not digital money in the sense cryptocurrencies are.

The ICO Similarities

The process of creating collectible assets resides in a process similar to ERC-20. This process is the tech standard that allowed for the initial coin offerings to become so popular in 2017. The CryptoKitties app is powered by ERC-721 request for comments.

This ethereum feature has been discussed for a long time, but this app is the first one to actually implement it. But there is a huge market for other potential uses of the same protocol and its ability to generate uniqueness. This means that the blockchain can create identical tokens, but which also include unique attributes.

In the case of CryptoKitties, these come in the form of breed, color, age or some other characteristics. These can make some combination very rare and with this, also very valuable. That is why one such CryptoKitties ended up being traded for over $100,000.

All of this makes ERC-721 an iteration of an already functional digital collectible system. However, it is also able to provide unique and new results that are clearly getting people excited. This is one of the key features of any killer app throughout history.

Uniqueness and Effectiveness

The protocol that powers CryptoKitties is an immensely powerful option for the future development and growth of the blockchain application. For now, it appears that online trading and investment hedging is the primary role of all manner of blockchain use.
Aside from this, the governmental agencies all over the world are experimenting with using it as an adaptation or improvement of the record-making and similar procedures. It is almost sure that these systems will come about soon and with a constantly rising level of effectiveness.

Yet, all of this is very much above the heads of regular users. A few investments coming from the general population cannot be really called a killer app of the blockchain tech. An app like CryptoKitties is a completely different story.

It has the ability and the infrastructure to create a something completely new in terms of user experience. This or some other iteration of the same principle of uniqueness and effectiveness could be the thing that ends up being the killer app for ethereum.