The MoonCats community is worried its final 160 “Genesis” collectibles, be accumulated by bots, with more than 70% voting to destroy the tokens’ private keys.
It has been reported that MoonCats collectibles depict 8-bit cats that live on the moon that can be traded or “adopted” by users. The project was launched on August 9, 2017, by developer Ponderware, with a hard limit of 25,500 MoonCats set to be created through a process similar to Ethereum mining.
However, the MoonCats community now fears the upcoming release of the final 160 Genesis cats may be hijacked by trading bots, with users complaining that MoonCats has become overrun by bots programmed to accumulate new cats the moment they can be purchased.
Did you miss the MoonCats mania? The recently-awakened NFT project wants to combat trading bots using a novel, yet somewhat controversial method: burning private keys. https://t.co/puGsUSE5BD — Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) March 22, 2021
The report said that MoonCats was rediscovered earlier this month amidst the booming growth of the NFT industry.
When collectors recently became aware of the project, it was reported that MoonCats NFTs were going for between $50 and $200.
Likewise, the most sought-after breed of tokenized space cats is “Genesis MoonCats” tokens that were among the first 256 mined on the platform. A Genesis MoonCat sold for 100 ETH worth around $180,000 earlier this month. With the final 160 Genesis cats currently awaiting release and the MoonCats community fearing they may be all bought by bots, Ponderware is looking to the MoonCats community to decide how to proceed next.
A “yes” outcome will prevent Genesis MoonCats released in the future, as the private key to the wallet holding the cats will be deleted. A “no” outcome will see the private key preserved and further discussions between Ponderware and the MoonCats community to establish a “fair” method for distributing the final Genesis cats.
The developer stated:
“A fair distribution of those cats may prove technically, socially, and/or economically impossible. We will work with the community to meet the challenge, but it is likely to be a complex and drawn-out issue.”
As per the sources, bots have been causing problems across the NFT space for many months. On February 26, NBA Top Shot was forced to delay the launch of their Premium Pack due to high levels of botting activity on the platform.
Thus, Roham Gharegozlou, the CEO of Dapper Lab, addressed the delay by noting the firm is not interested in quick sellouts generated by trading bots.
Source: Cointelegraph | Image: Pinterest