Who says bear markets are boring? It can’t be said for Web3, that’s for certain!
A new trend has captured the imagination of crypto degens – hamster racing. Yes, you read that right. Hamsters are racing against each other, and people are betting on who the winner will be. We all screamed for utility and real-world use cases for crypto, and by God did we get it.
Hamster Racing? Please explain.
The frenzy began last week with the launch of Hamsters.gg, a blockchain-based platform that allows users to bet on hamster races using crypto. Operating through Twitch, the platform offers a live-streamed experience where viewers can watch all the action go down.
The concept is simple – viewers place bets on the hamster they think will emerge victorious. Once a hamster crosses the finish line, the winners split the pool of bets, while the platform takes a 5% rake of all bets placed. A significant portion of this rake, 4%, is distributed to $HAMS token holders, which has largely contributed to the surge in attention hamster racing has gained in such a short space of time.
From Animal Racing to Backyard Fighting
$HAMS skyrocketed to an all-time high of $3.31 before predictably experiencing a significant price correction only a couple of days later, now currently trading at $0.58 at the time of writing.
There’s been some serious buys happening too. One unknown whale moved $500K from their CEX account to buy into $HAMS. Sadly, they managed to do this at the absolute top, but the good sport has since changed their ENS wallet address to “imnotunderwateryouare.eth,” showing they’re taking it well.
Nevertheless, the triumph of Hamsters.gg has sparked a wave of copycat projects, prompting Coingecko to introduce an entirely new category for animal racing-themed tokens. If you find yourself thinking, “that’s a sentence I never thought I’d read,” rest assured, I’m going through my own journey writing it.
Tokens like Rat Roulette ($RAT) and Snail Trail ($SLIME) have already emerged, capitalizing on the trend. Furthermore, the envelope is being pushed in other areas. Crypto Fight Club (CFC), a backyard combat organization, has garnered attention in this meta and plans to launch a betting platform for its fights. Although the betting functionality is not yet live, they have released a whitepaper and a token, and have been hosting fight events for some time already.
Final Thoughts
The animal racing meta seems to be cooling off already. Will it be here to stay in some capacity? It’s hard to tell, but it does at first glance appear to be one of those crazes that boots the door down, causes a ruckus, and then leaves as promptly as it arrived.
Nevertheless, hamster racing has once again reminded us that the crypto space is more than just serious financial investments and lofty goals of “changing the world for the better.” It’s also a place where we can embrace lighthearted and whimsical endeavors.
Those who dismiss such trends as “stupid” might miss out on the short-lived financial gains that come with them. It’s a misconception that bear markets offer nothing but downsides. In reality, if you jumped on the “stupid” $PEPE, BRC-20, open edition, and now hamster racing hype trains early enough, you’d be raking in the profits even during tough times. Those who made a fortune from these trends couldn’t care less if it’s considered silly; they’re celebrating with wads of cash.
What’s next? I’m sure that most of us would say we’ve seen it all, but we haven’t, and it’s going to be equally, if not more ridiculous than hamster racing. Let’s go find it.
Links
HamstersGG Website: https://hamsters.gg/
HamsterGG Twitter: https://twitter.com/hamsters_gg
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