An anonymous gamer has bought a virtual race car for the racing game F1 Delta Time for the staggering amount of 415.5 ETH, which equals $110.213 at the time of writing. This was announced by blockchain gaming company Animoca Brands, who organized the auction of the first of many NFT objects for their licensed Formula 1 game.
The auction lasted for four days and fifteen people have been bidding for the race car. Forty bids were placed, driving up the price significantly. The winning bidder is known by the nickname '09E282'. His or her real name is unknown.
The Apex Race Car 1-1-1 is a so-called non-fungible token (NFT) and can, in the near future, be used in F1 Delta Time. Animoca Brands first wants to create an economy surrounding the game. This first phase of F1 Delta Time started this month. By early 2020 they expect their racing game to be playable.
Some people in the cryptocurrency world are wondering why someone would be this much for a virtual car for a game nobody known much about. Others even think it was an inside job by Animoca themselves, using the news as a way to create hype around their game. However, this seems unlikely to me. Especially considering the background of the company.
Animoca Brands is a Hong Kong-based and listed company. Under the ticker AB1 the company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). In recent months the company acquired the German development studio Stryking, which has a license for the German Bundesliga. They also partnered with Atari to bring Rollercoaster Tycoon to the blockchain, and thanks to a partnership with development studio Lucid Sight they have their hands on a license for the Major League Baseball.
Posted from my blog: https://www.nederob.nl/2019/05/29/virtual-f1-race-car-sold-for-110-000/