If you don’t understand blockchain, these cats can explain it to you
Since no centralised organisation created all the digital cats, and the system is recorded on a ledger to prevent fraud, CryptoKitties’ founders say it may be an easy way to understand blockchain technology

By Michelle Castillo
People may be flabbergasted by the idea of an illustration of a cat selling for more than US$114,000, but CryptoKitties is more than that, according to its founders.
It’s a lesson in both blockchain and genetics wrapped up in a digital game.
“There’s no central organisation that owns these things,” said CryptoKitties co-founder Mack Flavelle. “These cats do a great job of explaining blockchain to people. There’s a democratisation of how to use blockchain.”
Flavelle is a product lead at Axiom Zen, which owns CryptoKitties.
The first thing to understand about CryptoKitties: It isn’t a cryptocurrency, it’s a cryptocollectable, Flavelle insists. The game involves collecting unique illustrated cats with specific digital genes, which breed and produce more cats after a certain period of time. You can keep, sell or trade your cat. That’s it – well, and the game is built on blockchain technology, specifically ethereum.