UK-based blockchain startup CryptoKaiju

has announced the launch of its second generation, Ethereum-powered crypto

collectibles.

Giant Ethereum monster, Jaiantokoin figure, CryptoKaiju

Called Jaiantokoin,

the new collectible follows in the footsteps of 2018’s inaugural figure, Genesis,

the world’s first vinyl toy to be fully traceable on a public blockchain. Genesis

figures sold out in just 40 days and went on to be sold on secondary markets

for as much as

US$280 per collectible, compared to their original price of US$55.

“The demand was so high that people were still requesting

Genesis up until last month,” said Oliver Carding, co-founder of CryptoKaiju. “Months

after selling out we are still receiving weekly requests from people looking to

buy one.”

Like Genesis, Jaiantokoin toys use tamper resistant near

field communication (NFC) tags and are digitally unique. Each figure is backed

by a ERC-721, non-fungible token (NFT), making every single toy one of its kind

on the Ethereum blockchain. Each is linked physically and digitally for

improved handling of provenance, authenticity and scarcity.

The token contains metadata which describes certain aspects

of the collectible, such as its birth date, gender, color, a description and two

personality traits such as “intelligence” or “creativity.” It ensures that the

collectible can’t be duplicated, counterfeited or faked.

“We used the feedback from our customers and everything we

learnt from our first collectible to improve the product,” Carding said. “We

completely revised the original feet design from our original prototype to

ensure the NFT is even more secure for example. I am sure fans of the project

will be equally pleased with our second generation figures.”

Genesis figure (purple), CryptoKaiju

Blockchain-powered crypto collectibles rose to fame in 2017

when CryptoKitties went

vital, with some rare kitties going for well

over US$100,000 each. CryptoKitties is an Ethereum-based virtual game that

lets users buy, sell, collect, breed and exchange unique cats. Like CryptoKaiju

figures, CryptoKitties uses Ethereum’s ERC-721 protocol, a NFT standard

originally authored by the CryptoKitties team.

In February 2019, New York City hosted the first major US

event dedicated to NFT, bringing together developers, entrepreneurs, gamers,

artists and fans to explore the opportunities related to this new type of

digital assets.

NFT.NYC 2019 was attended

by over 450 participants from more than 15 countries and featured 85 speakers,

including some of the biggest names in gaming, sports and art.

The release of the Jaiantokoin figures comes on the heels of

the news that LVMH, a luxury brand conglomerate, is preparing to launch a

blockchain platform for providing the authenticity of high-priced goods, according

to a report from CoinDesk.

The cryptographic provenance platform, called AURA and built

using a permissioned version of the Ethereum blockchain called Quorum, is expected

to go live in May or June and will provide proof of authenticity of luxury

items and trace their origins from raw materials to point of sale and beyond to

used-goods markets.

Launching worldwide on March 27, 2019, CryptoKaiju’s second

generation crypto collectibles are priced US$55 each. The limited edition

figures come in two different styles: a giant Bitcoin monster and the scarcer

giant Ethereum monster.

The batch is limited to 250 pieces and shipping will

commence on April 2, 2019.

CryptoKajiu is a collaboration between members of

CoinJournal and Block Rocket.