Looking for a pet that lives on the blockchain? Search no more. Search and AI giant Baidu just announced their response to CryptoKitties after quietly breeding a blockchain dog project called Laici Gou (่ฑ่จ็).
For those of you not familiar with the CryptoKitties, it is a game similar to Pokemon and Tamagotchi in which players can collect, buy and sell virtual breedable cats instead of playing cards. It is the first and one of the biggest blockchain-based games. Benny Giang, one of the co-founders of CryptoKitties, told TechNode in an interview that the team plans to first roll out the mobile version of the game for iOS in the Greater China region, then the rest of Asia.
According to TechNodeโs Chinese sister site, Baiduโs cryptodoggies project is still in the beta phase. Each of the cryptodoggies has a unique set of โgenesโ and their purchase is recorded on the blockchain. The cryptodoggies have eight special attributes, a combination of which will make each virtual doggy unique. These include ordinary, unusual, remarkable, epic, mythological, and legendary (our translation).
The cryptodoggies can be purchased with special credit points received from Baidu and not through money transfers, according to media reports. Users can receive points by using Baiduโs products and spend them through their Baidu wallet. These points will serve no other function, the report states.
The project belongs to Baiduโs blockchain lab which has also launched a blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) platform in January. In October 2017, Baidu has also joined Hyperledgerโs global alliance for developing blockchain.
