Ethereum Network Clogged by Another Cat Themed NFT Sale

After an NFT product from actress Mila Kunis was taken in 35 minutes, tokenized cats have yet again created a jam on the Ethereum network. It recalls the introduction of another cat-themed NFT project, CryptoKitties, in 2017, which notoriously clogged the Ethereum network.

Stoner Cats were originally postponed by a day due to a problem in the basic art layers discovered by the developers. Nevertheless, the second effort was productive, with tickets selling out in just “35 meow-nutes,” as Stoner Cats put it.

NFT collectors gobbled the first tranche of Stoner Cats, which had a ceiling of 10,420 NFTs at a price of 0.35 ETH a piece, worth around $810 while writing this article, sending gas prices soaring. Over the duration of the first campaign, additional 3,000 additional NFTs will be distributed, as per the project’s website.

On Twitter, DeFiprime remarked that “as usual cats choked Ethereum,” and posted on-chain statistics showing a significant rise in ETH gas costs, which ranged from 200 Gwei ($9.50) for a sluggish transaction to a whopping 709 Gwei ($33.67) for a fast transaction.

As per statistics from Dune Analytics, unsuccessful Stoner Cats deals cost a total of 344.4 ETH ($793,000) in price. Stoner Cats is an NFT-backed cartoon series in which celebrities such as Kunis, Jane Fonda, Ashton Kutcher, Seth MacFarlane, and Chris Rock speak for the characters. The NFTs provide the owner access to the program, and the initiative funds its development via NFT sales.

Vitalik Buterin, the co-founder of Ethereum, has also given voice for the character “Lord Catsinton,” who is portrayed as a “spirit guide.” Investors have swarmed to OpenSea to resell the NFTs, and a StonerCat NFT portraying Buterin’s persona is presently on sale for 77 ETH (approximately $177,000), reflecting a 9500% premium. Seth MacFarlane’s persona is shown in the form of an NFT priced at 420 ETH, or $960,000.

The brief rise, on the other hand, falls short in contrast to CryptoKitties, which notoriously “broke Ethereum” when its introduction in 2017 was hailed with tremendous demand. Notably, in May 2020, a sudden CrypoKitties launch overloaded the Nifty NFT marketplace, resulting in a plethora of service problems such as lag and rejected deals as a consequence of the influx of collectors.