DaoMaker founder Christoph Zaknun has built an NFT game, Degen Zoo, based on Logan Paul’s abandoned project CryptoZoo, a highly-anticipated Web3 crypto game that failed to meet the expectations of its community. Degen Zoo has launched on Ethereum (ETH-USD) and is simulating the impact of capitalism on animal extinction.
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CryptoZoo — What Happened?
Notably, Paul Logan has now used his fame to promote two NFT projects that failed to fulfill their promises. After being involved in the Dink Doink pump-and-dump scheme, he began promoting his own NFT game, CryptoZoo.
The project showed promise and quickly garnered millions of dollars in NFT sales and token investments, likely due to Logan’s involvement. The NFT eggs were supposed to provide their owners with a passive income stream after hatching.
However, when the day came to hatch the eggs, half of them didn’t work. The promises made by Logan turned out to be empty. Furthermore, as revealed by Coffeezilla on YouTube, Logan also worked with questionable individuals who sold tokens on the back end, leading to widespread disappointment, anger, and even accusations of fraud among investors.
Eventually, Logan promised to fix the issues with the eggs and make the project successful. However, investors remain skeptical, and the project has yet to regain the momentum it once had.
The CryptoZoo game still hasn’t been released, and its token value has dropped significantly since its peak in August 2021.
Live Development on Twitter
After receiving criticism from Zaknun regarding the time it took to complete the game, Paul released a video stating that he had no right to dictate the required development timeline. Zaknun then committed to proving him wrong by building the game within 30 days and donating all profits to charity.
Degen Zoo is an NFT game that forces players to balance their needs with those of the world’s most endangered species. It simulates humankind’s environmental impact and features 120 exotic creatures, such as the white rhino, amur leopard, and Bengal tiger.
The game pushes players towards “killing” their NFT animal (burning the NFT), driving the collection to extinction, and generating awareness of human greed’s effects on wildlife.
Interest in Degen Zoo soared during the development phase, aided by Zaknun’s decision to broadcast daily updates of his progress on Twitter. Over 250,000 people followed the Degen Zoo Twitter account, and hours before the deadline for the 30-day challenge, the first testnet version of Degen Zoo got released. Over 30,000 testnet transactions were racked up within days by 3,000 players eager to experience the game.
Zaknun started working on the game as a joke but has now proceeded with the mainnet release of Degen Zoo. It has evolved from an unusual concept into a viable experiment in game theory and human psychology.
The Degen Zoo Token and Game Theory
The game uses a deflationary token (DZOO) and an NFT collection featuring 120 endangered species. DZOO acts as the primary currency within the Degen Zoo game, where any action necessitates using DZOO, either by removing it from circulation or by burning it entirely.
To farm eggs, users must stake DZOO tokens. The more tokens they commit and the longer they stake them, the more eggs they earn. There are 24,000 eggs in the collection, and while the initial rate of egg inflation is high, it decreases with each egg claimed.
To hatch an egg, users must burn 25,000 DZOO tokens; only then will their egg hatch and their animal be revealed. Each animal can mint new tokens, with a 20% chance of minting less than 25,000 DZOO and a less than 3% chance of minting 125,000 DZOO or more.
Similarly to staking, animals must reach maturity before users can “kill” them for more DZOO profits. Initially, players have to stake 25k tokens, after which they will learn their annual percentage rate (APR).
The Moral of the Story
The story of Logan and Degen Zoo highlights the importance of honesty and credibility in business and personal relationships.
Paul Logan’s involvement in pump-and-dump schemes and failure to deliver on promises made in his NFT projects have damaged his credibility, leading to widespread disappointment and accusations of fraud among investors. This story underscores the importance of being truthful, transparent, and accountable in all aspects of life, especially in business.
