[Disclaimer: CryptoKaiju was Co-Founded by Oliver Carding, my fellow Co-Founder of CoinJournal and the guy that pays my checks. That said, I have no direct involvement with CryptoKaiju, and I really do think it is a unique product. I am being paid my normal salary for this article. I will also be getting a free CryptoKaiju, but that was offered before Oliver offered this article to me. I will try to remain impartial but felt it is essential that the readers are made aware.]
CryptoKaiju is launching their first blockchain powered vinyl collectible toy. Kaiju is the film genre, typically Japanese, that involves large monsters destroying cities and fighting each other or, you know: Godzilla. The CryptoKaiju is a vinyl collectible of a Crypto themed Kaiju, but it is also much more.
CryptoKaiju is a collaboration between CoinJournal.net Co-Founder Oliver Carding and the three Co-founders of digital art marketplace Known Origin, David Moore, James Morgan, and Andy Gray.
Every CryptoKaiju has a tamper-proof NFC tag embedded into it, providing information about its blockchain record. More than that, they each have unique traits and are represented on the Ethereum blockchain by a unique ERC-721 token.
The first collectible, aptly named Genesis, will kick off a program that will see new collectibles released monthly. Genesis is based on a little dude that has been somewhat of a mascot for us here at CoinJournal. As he was in our poster giveaway, he is decked out in a “giant lizard” suit, ready to crush the financial industry and send bankers running for the hills.
He stands 5.5 inches, is made of high-quality vinyl and is limited to a run of just 130 units. In addition, each has its own unique properties, so any purchased will not only be one of 130, but also one of one.
And unlike most collectibles in the world, you can be absolutely sure of that number. That is the power of the blockchain and CryptoKaiju’s primary innovation, besides somehow looking both cute and bad-ass. CryptoKaiju and CoinJournal co-founder Oliver Carding explains
“As a longtime collector of designer toys such as Kaws, Futura Pointmen and Medicom Bearbricks, I’ve previously had issues with not having full confidence that what I was buying was genuine, as well as issues with knowing exactly how many items have been produced in each batch. The concept of bringing not just provenance, but also a personality, through a set of attributes to a physical toy is extremely intriguing. That’s really where the idea for Kaiju came from and we’re excited to explore the full potential of this technology.”
As mentioned, each toy has its own unique traits. Including its gender, color, birth date and two personality traits. Some traits will be more scarce than others. Each purchased CryptoKaiju will be chosen at random so the collectible potential is sky high.
The CryptoKaiju collectible, besides being a cool and fun product for the cryptocurrency community, is intended to showcase blockchain technology to non-technical people. It can be difficult to explain how blockchain and smart contract technology can hold an advantage over traditional technologies.
“Since I initially became interested in cryptocurrencies and blockchains around 5 years
ago, I’ve been constantly searching for a simple way to explain the technology to non-technical friends and family. That’s when it dawned on me that and for most people, conceptualizing technology that’s completely intangible is rather difficult. Unless they can actually see or feel the item they’ve purchased, it often doesn’t make sense. We can’t wait to bring the benefits that blockchain offers to a physical product and creating an easy access point for people who wish to get involved in the space.”
It is not hard to imagine how the concepts behind CrypoKaiju could apply to other collectible industries. Shoe collectors are constantly dealing with knockoffs. And while some actually seek out the lower priced knockoffs, collectors are stuck wondering if their shoes are authentic. And even if they are, there is no guarantee that the company issuing them produced the exact number the claimed to produce. Are you the only one with a set of shoes that says “100 of 1000” or are there several pairs that claim that?
Blockchain enabled physical collectables, like CryptoKaiju, solve these problems. Not only could CryptoKaiju’s launch be the start of a collectible craze, it could be the start of a new era of collectible crazes.
You can learn more, including purchasing the first CryptoKaiju or joining the monthly program, by visiting CryptoKaiju.io