This is a summary of the op-ed “2023 Predictions, the Year of Web3 Pets” by Leah Callon-Butler, published on CoinDesk on January 5, 2023.
In her CoinDesk article “2023 Predictions: the Year of Web3 Pets,” Emfarsis Director Leah Callon-Butler referred to the wave of pet-centric games hitting the market as a clear signal of demand for virtual pets, which has been a popular video game niche since the 1990s. The difference is that, unlike Web2, where your pets are stuck on their platforms until the game closes down, Web3 allows a player’s pets to live in their crypto wallet instead. As the world goes increasingly online, the companionship, care, and connection people enjoy with their virtual pets also scale proportionally.
After giving up some of her rescue dogs for adoption due to the constant need for global travel, Leah found solace in her digital Crypto Unicorn. Many other people felt the same way, most of whom were reinvesting in their virtual pets. In Genopets, 65% of players spent their in-game resources to improve their pets instead of cashing out. Web3 pet owners tick all the boxes: They care about property rights, put in more value than they extract, and don’t abandon their beloved NFTs because of market dips.
“In Web3, we talk a lot about earning rewards, but the premise is almost always financial. This is a missed opportunity because the most rewarding experiences of our lives tend to be driven by emotion, not by money.”
Right now, the industry is in an awkward transition phase where there are numerous big claims about Web3’s utility. In reality, NFT ownership is flimsy, and the virtual playgrounds are self-contained silos. The most utility seen so far has not shown Web3’s true potential. The conversation surrounding Web3 has always been financial, but the same cannot be said for non-fungible items, like a Crypto Unicorn. We care about the connection and the sense of ownership because these things are a part of ourselves.
After a brutal year of heartbreak in the crypto industry, all of us can use a friend to keep us company.
Read the full article here: “2023 Predictions: The Year of Web3 Pets” by Leah Callon-Butler. Published January 5, 2023, on CoinDesk.
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