In this article we’ll discuss how cryptocurrency, and more specifically how digital collectables built on Ethereum could have a radical impact on Rhinos and how you could ultimately profit from it!

Let’s start with a well known, much loved collectable from the traditional world; the humble baseball card. Baseball cards have captured the imagination of folk since the 1800’s. Perhaps none more so than the card that portrays Honous Wagner, a record breaking batsman who is widely considered to be one of the best players of all time. This relic sold for an astonishing $3,120,000 in October 2016.

The T206 Baseball set was published by the American Tobacco Company in 1909 with the cards found in cigarette and loose tobacco packs up until 1911.

T206 Honous Wagner

Whilst most cards in this set were easily obtained, the set also included the near mythical and uber rare Honous Wagner.

Legend has it that Honous pulled production of the card as he didn’t want his children to continue to purchase tobacco products in an effort to get his card. As a result, there were only between 60 and 200 cards ever made.

The price of an object is determined by the relationship of two factors: supply and demand. As we’ve found out, supply was fixed and very low. Demand was high as this was a glorious time for baseball; it wasn’t just the talented Wagner that graced the fields, but also a certain Babe Ruth (who burst on the scenes in 1919).

This coveted card was listed and sold for $50.00 in 1933 (That’s equivalent to $968 in 2018).

Horous was already an icon within baseball but quickly became a legend in the collectible card realm too, the moment the highest bid reached $3,120,000.00 at Goldins Auctions on 10th October 2016.

Non-fungible items, such as trading cards, have value as they are unique. Should one person hold a non-fungible item it means any one of the remaining 7,727,689,319 population cannot. It’s as simple as that.

We live in an ever increasing mass produced world. A world where you can buy a t-shirt on the high street that perfectly matches your style, only to walk past someone wearing the same top just moments later. We crave to stand out, to stand above the crowd. However, this has become increasingly challenging within the framework society has given us. The modern day Millennial or Generation Z’er cannot purchase priceless, ancient relics, nor do they realistically have money to become part of the collectible art world. Yet, we still find ourselves drawn to that which is rare. Rare, as dictated by supply and demand, is often associated with the expensive, the luxurious, and the exclusive.

Collectible card games have gone through what can be considered as a renaissance over the past twenty years and have perhaps gone a long way to filling this void for many. Magic: The Gathering has sold over 20 billion cards between 2008–2017, Yu-Gi-Oh over 25 billion and Pokemon a staggering 27 billion. Rare cards within these sets regularly change hands for multiple thousands. There’s most certainly demand for these items and supply is tightly controlled (and limited) by the card manufacturers to ensure value is retained.

Now, how does the black rhino fit into this story?

Populations of black rhino declined dramatically in the 20th century at the hands of European hunters and settlers. Between 1960 and 1995, black rhino numbers dropped by a sobering 98%, to less than 2,500.

There have been commendable efforts to increase the awareness of this problem, the aim being to slow the declining numbers and offer this creature much needed protection. There is, however, much work to be done. It is sad to imagine that the next generation could cite the Black Rhino alongside the Tasmanian devil and dodo.

Kingdom Token is utilizing the ERC721 standard, which enables the creation of non-fungible tokens on the Ethereum block-chain to build a new ecosystem of rare tokens that represent endangered species.

Kingdom Token has created digital collectable tokens that represent the world’s most endangered species. Thus allowing you to add a Black Rhino to your Ethereum wallet!

The scarcity of the token is determined by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, which categorize the species from Extinct to Least Concern.

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Within the Kingdom Token Ecosystem there will 86 different threatened species. As an example, there will only ever be 750 critically endangered Black Rhino, 1750 endangered Bengal Tigers, and 2500 vulnerable Giant Panda. This creates a rare, collectible entity not too dissimilar to that of the T206 Baseball set.

Kingdom Token is set to fully harness the power of non-fungible tokens by donating 25% of all initial sales to wildlife conservation charities. Just last week we announced a partnership with The Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP).

We are aware that people often act in their self-interest, and that’s understandable. You wouldn’t do something that puts you at a disadvantage. Why should you care about an East African creature that you’ll most likely never come into contact with? What’s more, for most, it is challenging enough to afford the weekly shop, let alone to donate to charitable causes. As a result selfless giving is just not an option; this can’t be changed, regardless of how emotionally moving our ads might be.

So, this is our solution; take the giving out of giving. Instead change it to purchasing, or better still, investing. You won’t be donating to conservation charities, we will be. You will instead be buying a rare, non-fungible token that can be traded on the open market, potentially for profit.

CryptoKitties

The ERC721 standard already has an enormous success story in the form of CryptoKitties. Another non-fungible digital token that enables you to trade and breed digital cats. Over $27,000,000 have been spent on these digital assets. The most expensive one, the genesis cat, sold for a staggering $115,000.

The question remains; “Will the Black Rhino Token be the Honous Wagner of today?” If you believe so, then it could be a terrific investment.

Oh, and you’ll also help to save the rhinos!

One last thing, if you want a glimpse of the Honous Wagner, an authenticate card is part of the Leopold Morse Goulston Baseball Collection and housed in the New York Public Library. Unfortunately, and further underlining the need for urgent action, it’s much easier to see Honous than a wild black rhino

If you have found this interesting and you have reached this stage then it means you care, but the good work has only just begun, join us at KingdomToken.io.