Are 'Cryptokitties' the Next Bitcoin?

December 05, 2017

WRITER

One bitcoin now equals $11,245 in U.S. dollars. Will the cryptocurrency market continue to rise, or is it a bubble? Glenn and Stu debated this question on today’s show while talking about an adorable new trend in digital currency: collectible “CrypoKitties.”

Huh?

A CryptoKitty is a digital collectible that’s basically the online version of a valuable trading card. People are spending real money on these virtual kitties — $1.3 million has been transacted by the game so far.

How does it work?

Based on the Ethereum blockchain technology that fuels the world’s second largest digital currency, CryptoKitties works with the digital wallet MetaMask and accepts the digital payment ether. If you want more details, the website has a handy FAQ section.

Bitcoin Is a Gamble – but It’s Also Paving the Way for Future Currency

Will I lose my CryptoKitty when the game isn’t trendy anymore?

According to the creators, no. “Each cat is one-of-a-kind and 100% owned by you; it cannot be replicated, taken away, or destroyed,” the website says. Because the game is decentralized, CryptoKitties can live forever on the Ethereum blockchain, unlike other web games that are stored on a database and depend on the company continuing to host them.

This article provided courtesy of TheBlaze.

GLENN: Interesting weekend for bitcoin. It went from 12,000 to a low of 10,6. Do you know why?

This is actually something you should watch. Do you know why it had such a big blip? It lost 1,000 bucks, that fast. You know why?

STU: I don't know why, no.

GLENN: Telegraph reported, right about the time of the big drop, in the UK, that they are now -- the UK is going to launch a crackdown on the virtual currency bitcoin, amid growing concern it's being used to launder money and dodge tax.

So now you have England saying, we're going to look into this. We might start regulation. So it went down. Almost 2,000 points. And then by the end of the day, it had bounced back up. What is it at now?

STU: 11,300.

GLENN: 11,300.

STU: What a disappointment. From 800 in January.

GLENN: A lot of people say that bitcoin is in a bubble. And you could make the case. And a pretty strong case that it's in a bubble. One that I haven't really been willing to look at.

STU: This time it's different. It's never going to stop. It's always --

GLENN: Right. It's never different.

However, I think I have the evidence that makes me say, we are definitely in a bubble. Here it is: Launched just a few days ago, crypto kitties -- crypto kitties, essentially like a digital version of Pokémon cards, but based on the Ethereum block chain, is becoming one of the biggest viral sensations to catch on in the tech world.

Design studio. People are spending a crazy amount of really money on the game. So far, about $1.3 million has been transacted with multiple kittens, selling for 50 Ethereum coins. And the genius kitten being sold for a record of 246. That's $113,000.

So here's what it is: I think -- I think there are only a certain number of virtual kitties that are born.

STU: And when you say -- you mean like cats. Little cats? Digital cats?

GLENN: Little digital cat. Okay? Just a digital cat. And they're born through the block chain.

STU: So stupid.

GLENN: So you buy a cat that is a digital block chain cat.

STU: Uh-huh.

GLENN: And then you can interact with the digital cat. Let's see what it says that you do, I know the idea is to trade. It's like Beanie Babies. To trade and to buy a better cat, that doesn't exist.

STU: Okay. So it's a bubble. We can now clarify.

GLENN: Yeah, it's definitely a bubble. What you do is you collect cats. Here are the cats right here. How to play. There are are the cats.

STU: They all look pretty much the same.

GLENN: They're very different.

STU: They're very different?

GLENN: No, they're very different. Game was ceded with 100 founder kitties. This -- there's also a new gen HEP zero cat, released every 15 minutes, which are listed for the average price of the last five sold, plus 50 percent. But the sale price declines over 24 hours, until somebody actually buys the cat. Anyone can sell their kittens via an auction, where they pick a starting price and an ending price. And the price declines over time, until someone buys the cat.

So, for example, I could put a kitten up for sale for a one-day auction at one Ethereum coin.

STU: Ether or Ethereum.

GLENN: Yeah, Ethereum coin. Starting at one and an ending price of zero.

And if somebody buys it 12 hours after the auction starts, they pay me .5 Ethereum points.

STU: Which is like a couple hundred bucks.

GLENN: You can also create new kittens by breeding them.

STU: Okay. So block chain sex is basically what's happening?

GLENN: No. Block chain cartoon kitty sex.

STU: That's much more --

GLENN: So you are taking money that has no real value, because it doesn't actually exist. You're buying that bogus money, and you're trading that bogus money for a bogus cat.

(chuckling)

GLENN: That doesn't exist. And your hope is that you're going to sell that fake cat. Or breed a better fake cat. And sell it for more of the fake coins than anybody else.

STU: Obviously -- did you feel the need to explain that to the audience?

GLENN: No, I was just talked down to a couple of the slow people that don't really understand that, yes, indeed, perhaps this is a bubble.

(music)

STU: It's funny. You brought up Beanie Babies. People talk about in this bubble way. That's such a fascinating story. I did an interview with a guy who wrote a book about it. And I think it's called the great Beanie Baby bubble.

And you think, it's kind of a silly topic. It's a fascinating story, though. This guy was going around trying -- he was a real big entrepreneur. And decided to try to do this -- create these little animals that he would sell and make money off of.

And really, the big -- the reason why the Beanie Baby thing was so big for that time, was that he decided to call these things -- instead of just discontinuing them, he started calling them retired.

GLENN: Ah.

STU: And when he said retired, as soon as he said, we're going to retire this stupid Beanie Baby, people would rush to stores and bid the price high.

So the whole time, the entire process was people trying to figure out who would next be retired. Because as soon as they got retired, the price would go up. And the people buying the new ones were basically on the idea that eventually there would be a retirement and they would be able to cash in.

And what -- the guy who wound up doing it, was obsessed with these things. Meticulous, to the point of he would spend hours looking over samples of the eyes. Took it super seriously. And designed like every one of these things. And he wound up making like $2 billion off of this.

It's -- kind of came and went.

GLENN: So how many people have parents who collected the Beanie Babies?

STU: Oh, yeah.

GLENN: And they have a closet full of the Beanie Babies. And you know at the time, Beanie Babies, it's not going to work. You're not going to retire on the Beanie Baby money. And they saved them. And they have them. Now is the time where you -- where you -- where the -- where boys are boys and men arrive. The men say, the hell my Beanie Baby collection isn't going to be worth something. I'm keeping it.

(chuckling)

Because everybody is looking at their Beanie Baby collection now going, this is so stupid. Get rid of it. Once everybody gets rid of it, those who save those Beanie Babies.

STU: And you carry that dream to your grave, don't you?

GLENN: Yeah, I'm going to lock them all in my coffin with me.

STU: It's funny. Who knows there's more technology involved in it than Beanie Babies. So you think it may have a little bit more --

GLENN: The kitties?

STU: Yeah, well...

GLENN: No. Dear God -- Stu, don't try to talk yourself into the kitties have value.

STU: I'm talking this technology.

GLENN: Oh, the block chain. The block chain has -- yeah, the block chain kitties don't have any value. But block chain.

STU: Well, everything has what the market assigns to it, right?

GLENN: That is crazy.

STU: You just got to wait for the right buyer. And it's usually a moron.

GLENN: So I you think. For instance, tell me the tulip story, that you know.

STU: The tulip story is there became this sort irrational exuberance, is the phrase they often use in these terms.

GLENN: Yeah, yeah.

STU: And they started trading them as currency.

GLENN: So why did it -- what was the spark for it? What happened? How is that possible?

STU: It's been a while. I don't remember. Right?

GLENN: Okay. So I never heard it -- here's the thing: This was at the time when people were just starting to keep gardens and starting to have lawns and everything else. And the really, really, really rich people were starting to do that. The bulb, I don't know where the tulip bulb came from. I'm not deep in the book. I'm kind of scanning it.

But the -- the idea that all of a sudden a thing of beauty, it's looked at as art, this one bulb, is -- is art. Okay? So you could put this in your house. Or you could put this in front of your house or whatever, and it's a thing of beauty and a thing of art. So it's like the art craze, it doesn't even look like anything. That's just a blue canvas. No, it's worth $121 million. Okay. Good for you.

Same thing. They thought this was a thing of beauty and a thing of art. And they thought there was only one of them. And so they thought, this is going to catch on. Because all the rich people are going to want them all in their gardens, all over the world. Which they did. It just didn't work out as well as they thought because you can make more of them.

STU: You can make more tulips?

GLENN: Yes, you can. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

STU: There's inflation in the tulip market?

GLENN: Yeah.

STU: It does seem that way.

GLENN: But you can see -- you can see how people like bitcoin wait a minute. Hang on. There weren't a lot of tulips. We think now, tulips, they're everywhere. Not a lot of tulips. And they're making new tulips. I don't know how you breed tulips. But they're making new ones. People are going to have these things called lawns. And they're going to want a flower box. It was at the beginning of flower boxes and bringing flowers in.

STU: Right.

GLENN: You don't really even think of it like that, you know.

STU: It's a bit of a stretch.

GLENN: It's why it was a bubble in disaster.

STU: Okay. Okay.

GLENN: But, again, you can kind of -- like, I can't make a case for the kitty cats. Can't. No. Can't.

STU: This is a pet rock, right?

GLENN: No. No. The pet rock cost, what? Two dollars? People are spending $150 on --

STU: The same thing with Beanie Babies. Every one of these trends, you can always say, a Cabbage Patch what level of entertainment, enjoyment, it gives the individual. That's why things happen on the market. There's a lot of stuff that -- I see purses that my wife buys, and I think that looks like it's worth $12. And it's not.

GLENN: Again, not at all.

STU: No.

GLENN: And, again, that is a thing that is tangible.

STU: Yeah.

GLENN: That is a thing that goes with style.

STU: But that is something -- that's a weird. That's an old timey observation. Right? We used to say the same thing. That company, they don't even produce anything. That's what we used to say when the, quote, unquote, internet bubble happened. And now I'm pretty sure that one wound up being big. That internet thing.

GLENN: All right.

STU: I already have 12. They're on sale.

GLENN: Yes, but I have the genius kitty.

Critical theory destroys truth and justice

Editor's note: This article was originally published on TheBlaze.com.

Critical theory once stood out as the absurd progressive notion that it is. Now, its maxims are becoming an integral part of ordinary political discourse. The more you repeat a lie, the more you will believe it, and this is the very dangerous place in which we find ourselves today.

Take this critical theory maxim as an example: If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice. It's a necessary evil, if you will, the necessity of “controlled injustice.”

By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we’ll save the republic. We’ll be acting in a noble way.

This definition of justice is defined by the “oppressed,” not the “oppressor.” It is the greatest happiness for the greatest number. To achieve this justice, however, we need to endorse acts on occasion that, while seemingly unjust, serve a higher purpose. It will ensure the stability and the unity of our republic, and this may manifest in ways that seem contradictory to our values. But these are the necessary shadows to cast light on “true justice.”

And isn’t that what we are all after, anyway?

Here’s another critical theory maxim: Sometimes we find the truth through fabrication. Our pursuit of truth sometimes requires a strategic use of falsehoods. The truth is a construct that has been shaped and tailored to promote the well-being of the collective.

We sometimes need to accept and propagate lies designed by "the system” — not the old system, but the system that we’re now using to replace the old to get more justice through injustice and more truth through fabrication.

We’re engaging in a higher form of honesty. When we fabricate, it’s for the right reason. We are reaching up to the heavens fighting for a higher sort of honesty. To fortify the truth, we occasionally must weave a tapestry of lies. Each thread, essential for the greater picture, will ultimately define our understanding and ensure our unity under this infallible wisdom.

The election is coming up. Does this maxim sound familiar? Many think it is imperative that we secure our republic through election control to maintain our republic. Sometimes, we might need to take actions that by traditional standards might be questionable.

The act of securing elections requires cheating. It's not mere deception. It is a noble act of safeguarding our way of life. We're on the verge of losing this democracy, and without deception, we will lose it.

To ensure it doesn't fall into the hands of those we know will destroy it, we may have to make a few fabrications. We're fabricating stories to be able to control or secure the republic through our elections. By using truth through fabrication and controlled injustice for justice, we'll save the republic. Therefore, we'll be acting in a noble way. Stealing an election from those who wish to harm our society is truly an act of valor and an essential measure to protect our values and ensure the continuation of our just society.

If we desire justice, we must sometimes champion what may appear superficially as injustice.

I know it's a paradox of honor through dishonor. But in this context, by embracing the dishonor, we achieve the highest form of honor, ensuring the stability and the continuation of our great republic.

Let this be heard, far and wide, as a great call to patriotic action. As we advance, let each of us, citizens of this great and honorable republic, consider these principles. Not as abstract or paradoxical but as practical guides to daily life. Embrace the necessity of controlled injustice, the utility of lies, the duty to secure our electoral process, and the honor and apparent dishonor. These are not merely strategies for survival. They are prerequisites for our prosperity.

We all have to remember that justice is what our leaders define, that truth is what our party tells us. Our republic stands strong on the values of injustice for justice, honor through dishonor, and the fabrication of truths. To deviate from this path is to jeopardize the very fabric of our society. Strength through unity; unity through strength.

We've heard this nonsense for so long. But now, this nonsense is becoming an instituted reality, and we are entering perilous times. Don't be fooled by the narratives you will hear during the march to November. Never let someone convince you that the ends justify the means, that a little bit of injustice is needed to achieve a broader, collective vision of justice, that truth sometimes requires fabricated lies and narratives. If we do, justice will cease to be justice, truth will cease to be truth, and our republic will be lost.

Top 5 MOST EVIL taxes the government extorts from you

David McNew / Staff | Getty Images

"In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." -Ben Franklin

The injustice of taxation has been a core issue for Americans since the very beginning of our country, and it's a problem we have yet to resolve. This belief was recently reignited in many Americans earlier this month on tax day when the numbers were crunched and it was discovered that the government was somehow owed even more hard-earned money. As Glenn recently discussed on his show, it's getting to be impossible for most Americans to afford to live comfortably, inflation is rising, and our politicians keep getting richer.

The taxpayer's burden is heavier than ever.

The government is not above some real low blows either. While taxes are a necessary evil, some taxes stretch the definition of "necessary" and emphasize the "evil." Here are the top five most despicable taxes that are designed to line the IRS coffers at your expense:

Income Tax

Joe Raedle / Staff | Getty Images

"It would be a hard government that should tax its people one-tenth part of their income." -Ben Franklin

On February 24th, 2024 we hit a very unfortunate milestone, the 101st anniversary of the 16th Amendment, which authorized federal income tax. Where does the government get the right to steal directly out of your paycheck?

Death Taxes

Dan Mullan / Staff | Getty Images

"Now my advice for those who die, Declare the pennies on your eyes" -George Harrison

Not even in death can you escape the cold pursuit of the tax collector. It's not good enough that you have to pay taxes on everything you buy and every penny you make your entire life. Now the feds want a nice slice, based on the entire value of your estate, that can be as much as 40 percent. Then the state government gets to stick their slimy fingers all over whatever remains before your family is left with the crumbs. It's practically grave-robbery.

Payroll

Bloomberg / Contributor | Getty Images

"The power to tax is the power to destroy." -John Marshall

What's that? The nice chunk of your paycheck the government nabs before you can even get it to the bank wasn't enough? What if the government taxed your employer just for paying you? In essence, you make less than what your agreed pay rate is and it costs your employer more! Absolutely abominable.

Social Security

VALERIE MACON / Contributor | Getty Images

"We don't have a trillion-dollar debt because we haven't taxed enough; we have a trillion-dollar debt because we spend too much." -Ronald Reagan

Everyone knows the collapse of Social Security is imminent. It has limped along for years, only sustained by a torrent of tax dollars and the desperate actions of politicians. For decades, people have unwillingly forked over money into the system they will never see again.

FICA

Kevin Dietsch / Staff | Getty Images

"What at first was plunder assumed the softer name of revenue." -Thomas Paine

FICA is the payroll equivalent of Social Security. Your employer has to match however much you pay. It means it costs your employer even more to pay you—again, you'll NEVER see that money. At this point, are you even working for yourself, or are you just here to generate money for the government to frivolously throw away?

5 DISTURBING ways World War III will be different from previous wars

Oleg Nikishin / Stringer | Getty Images

Has World War III begun?

Over the weekend, Iran launched an unprecedented attack against Israel involving over 300 missiles and drones. This marked the first direct attack on Israel originating from Iranian territory. Fortunately, according to an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, 99 percent of missiles and drones were successfully neutralized by Israeli defense systems. Iran claimed that the operation against Israel had concluded and that no further offensive was planned, although the possibility of another attack is still present.

This has left many people, including Glenn, wondering the same thing: did we just witness the start of World War III?

Glenn recently had a World War II Air Force Veteran as a guest on his TV special, who told stories of the horrors he and his brothers-in-arms faced in the skies over war-torn Europe. This was a timely reminder of the terrors of war and a warning that our future, if it leads to another world war, is a dark one.

But, if Glenn's coverage of the Iranian attack revealed one thing, it's that World War III will look nothing like the world wars of the twentieth century. Long gone are the days of John "Lucky" Luckadoo and his "Bloody Hundredth" bravely flying their B-17s into battle. Over the weekend, we saw hundreds of autonomous drones and missiles clashing with extreme speed and precision over several different fronts (including space) simultaneously. This ain't your grandfather's war.

From EMP strikes to cyber attacks, here are FIVE ways the face of war has changed:

EMP attacks

New York Daily News Archive / Contributor | Getty Images

The entire modern world, on every level, is completely dependent on electricity. From your home refrigerator to international trade, the world would come to a grinding halt without power. And as Glenn has pointed out, it wouldn't even be that hard to pull off. All it would take is 3 strategically placed, high-altitude nuclear detonations and the entire continental U.S. would be without power for months if not years. This would cause mass panic across the country, which would be devastating enough on its own, but the chaos could be a perfect opportunity for a U.S. land invasion.

Nuclear strikes

Galerie Bilderwelt / Contributor | Getty Images

Nuclear war is nothing new. Many of us grew up during the Cold War, built fallout shelters, and learned to duck and cover. But times have changed. The Berlin Wall fell and so did the preparedness of the average American to weather a nuclear attack. As technology has advanced, more of our adversaries than ever have U.S. cities within their crosshairs, and as Glenn has pointed out, these adversaries are not exactly shy about that fact. Unfortunately, the possibility of an atomic apocalypse is as real as ever.

Immigration warfare

Nick Ut / Contributor | Getty Images

The strategy of strangling an opposing nation's economy to gain the upper hand is a wartime tactic as old as time. That's why the Border Crisis is so alarming. What better way to damage an opponent's economy than by overburdening it with millions of undocumented immigrants? As Glenn has covered, these immigrants are not making the trek unaided. There is a wide selection of organizations that facilitate this growing disaster. These organizations are receiving backing from around the globe, such as the WEF, the UN, and U.S. Democrats! Americans are already feeling the effects of the border crisis. Imagine how this tactic could be exploited in war.

Cyber shutdowns

Bill Hinton / Contributor | Getty Images

Cyber attacks will be a major tactic in future wars. We've already experienced relatively minor cyber strikes from Russia, China, and North Korea, and it is a very real possibility that one of our adversaries inflicts a larger attack with devastating consequences on the United States. In fact, the WEF has already predicted a "catastrophic" cyber attack is imminent, and Glenn suggests that it is time to start preparing ourselves. A cyber attack could be every bit as devastating as an EMP, and in a world run by computers, nothing is safe.

Biological assault

WPA Pool / Pool | Getty Images

Don't trust the "experts." That was the takeaway many of us had from the pandemic, but something less talked about is the revelation that China has manufactured viruses that are capable of spreading across the globe. We now know that the lab leak hypothesis is true and that the Wuhan lab manufactured the virus that infected the entire world. That was only ONE virus from ONE lab. Imagine what else the enemies of America might be cooking up.

The government is WAGING WAR against these 3 basic needs

NICHOLAS KAMM / Contributor | Getty Images

The government has launched a full-on assault against our basic needs, and people are starting to take notice.

As long-time followers of Glenn are probably aware, our right to food, water, and power is under siege. The government no longer cares about our general welfare. Instead, our money lines the pockets of our politicians, funds overseas wars, or goes towards some woke-ESG-climate-Great Reset bullcrap. And when they do care, it's not in a way that benefits the American people.

From cracking down on meat production to blocking affordable power, this is how the government is attacking your basic needs:

Food

Fiona Goodall / Stringer | Getty Images

Glenn had Rep. Thomas Massie on his show where he sounded the alarm about the attack on our food. The government has been waging war against our food since the thirties when Congress passed the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1938. They started by setting strict limits on how many crops a farmer could grow in a season and punishing anyone who grew more—even if it was intended for personal use, not for sale on the market. This sort of autocratic behavior has continued into the modern day and has only gotten more draconian. Today, not only are you forced to buy meat that a USDA-approved facility has processed, but the elites want meat in general off the menu. Cow farts are too dangerous to the environment, so the WEF wants you to eat climate-friendly alternatives—like bugs.

Water

ALESSANDRO RAMPAZZO / Contributor | Getty Images

As Glenn discussed during a recent Glenn TV special, the government has been encroaching on our water for years. It all started when Congress passed the Clean Water Act in 1972, which gave the government the ability to regulate large bodies of water. As the name suggests, the act was primarily intended to keep large waterways clear of pollution, but over time it has allowed the feds to assume more and more control over the country's water supply. Most recently, the Biden administration attempted to expand the reach of the Clean Water Act to include even more water and was only stopped by the Supreme Court.

Electricity