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Richard Adrian
Nov 13, 2019
by Richard Adrian

Blizzard Scandal Sets Ethereum’s Hearthstone to Record Volumes

Ethereum Hearthstone
A censorship scandal involving game-developer Blizzard has shot Ethereum based trading card game, Gods Unchained above Cryptokitties. Coin Metrics, a blockchain research firm claimed that activity in the game exploded following the scandal. In fact, surging interest almost attaining CryptoKitiies’ 2017 peak. 

Data: Gods Unchained volume is five times higher

Gods Unchained’ daily transfers of its non-fungible tokens (NFTs) hit a record of up to 500, 000 by the end of last week. CryptoKitties 2017 craze only hit its peak to a number far less than 100, 000. The hit data underscores last fall’s backlash against Blizzard following a PR disaster that involved China. Blizzard is the game developer platform behind hit titles such as World of Warcraft. 

Meanwhile, the company turned down prize money from the top player of its Hearthstone game, Chung Ng Wai. This happened after the alleged winner voiced support for the Hong Kong Protest movement. Gods Unchained capitalized on the turn of events by offering replacement winnings and several other luring perks to Chung. They announced the offer through a tweet that received over 33,000 retweets. 

Price of control

It is worth noting that Hearthstone players have less control of their gaming assets due to the platform's centralization. This is no different from CryptoKitties’ platform. However: 

“...Unlike Hearthstone, Gods Unchained is built on the Ethereum blockchain, and each one of its cards is represented by an ERC-721 token. This means that users truly own their cards and can trade them freely on the open market, similar to any other cryptocurrency,” 

If the story is anything to go by, Chinese media platforms would go public with a blockchain endorsement favor; ironically and subsequently endorsing the use of blockchain technology to the mainstream. Note that by the end of October, there emerged a barrel of headlines advicing the public against speaking ill of blockchain technology; or mistaking public support for shift in crypto regulation policies. 

 

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Blizzard Scandal Sets Ethereum’s Hearthstone to Record Volumes
Richard Adrian
Richard is a versatile fintech analyst with a deep understanding of blockchain domains. As much as technology fascinates him, he finds the intersection of both technology and finance mind-blowing. The firm belief that fintech will drive the future has brought him to the crossroads of Fintech discoveries and transmission of immutable data to a wider audience.

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