The Next Hot NFT – Interview with the founder of Kryptomon

Umberto Canessa / Kryptomon

We might have discovered the hot next up and coming NFT game. Kryptomon peaked our interest earlier this year, and we finally got a chance to dig deeper and get the insider scoop on this project.

Plenty people would have loved to get into projects like Cryptopunks or Axie Infinity early – and even more are now hunting for the next big thing in crypto. Of course, with more and more NFT projects popping up every day it can be hard to split the cream from the crop – and naturally, everyone has their own opinion on what to HODL and what to dump.

We took a look at one such hopeful project, and we really liked what we saw – so we had a chat with Umberto Canessa, the founder and CEO of Kryptomon.

What inspired the Kryptomon project?

Umberto: Back in the good old days there were two main games that shaped the life of geeky 90’s kids like most of us on the Kryptomon team: Pokémon and Tamagotchi; I still remember the first time my Tamagotchi hatched and asked for food, as well as the time I entered the Pokémon world. Both experiences were simply magic and I was hooked from that moment!

In 2017 a new concept hit the market – “CryptoKitties”. The idea behind it was simple yet genius. Leveraging the Ethereum blockchain and NFTs, CryptoKitties was one of the first widely recognisable blockchain games. It creates digital kitties, each with its unique genetic code that players can own, breed and train. No two kitties (each attached to an NFT) are identical — even those that exist on the same platform or in the same collection. Players can be certain that they are the owner of their own digital collectible.

I guess you could say that Kryptomon was born out of a marriage of these two things; the OG games that we, as 90s kids, all love, and a second love for the genius of and hype around GameFi (the term to describe the blend of gaming and decentralised finance), NFTs and cryptocurrency.

How is it different to existing crypto-gaming projects, how is it similar?

Umberto: Kryptomon – think CryptoKitties meets Tamagotchi and Pokémon! We have received A LOT of wonderful interest so far – in fact, we had 100,000 people register interest in our project over our nine-day launch period.

Kryptomons are unique digital creatures, linked to an NFT, each with a unique genetic code. Instead of being a very fancy .gif, Kryptomons are alive, which means you’ll need to take care of them like you would a living pet – feed, breed and train them to improve their stats and make them stronger. Since every Kryptomon has a unique genetic code that determines its physical and behavioural features, if your Kryptomon has a high level of affection, that means you need to care for and cuddle it more. It isn’t just about owning an NFT, it is about caring for a pet as you would a real one! Each owner of a Kryptomon becomes a ‘Trainer’.

A point of difference is that we are pushing to engage the mainstream gaming market in Kryptomon. We are working with some of the leading gaming developers in the world. Our crypto game runs on BSC and with attractive gas fees Kryptomon will be a more appealing option to the mainstream players, unlike other platforms that charge higher fees for transactions.

We’re making many steps to better the user experience. We’ve partnered with the global financial institution, Simplex, in its first ever NFT partnership, to simplify the process for people to enter the Kryptomon world in terms of purchasing an egg and KMON, the currency attached to the Kryptomon world.

© Kryptomon

What future path do you see for Kryptomon, where do you want it to go?

Umberto: When I played Pokémon as a child I really felt like I was living the game, not just playing it! I loved getting lost in the world of pets and battles. Imagine that world built around little monsters, all completely different from one another, where you and other Trainers battle one another to become the ultimate Trainer. I want to recreate that world! Unfortunately, creatures that spit fire and have waterbending abilities don’t currently exist… or not that we have found!

This is where Kryptomon comes in, we want to replicate that world where you can raise and train unique monsters with the mission to climb up in the ranks. A world where Trainers don’t just battle their monsters, but they bond and grow with them.

As a child I dreamt about playing in a game like this, now my son will be able to live it!

What struggles has Kryptomon had to overcome and what difficulties has it yet to face?

Umberto: I think the biggest struggle we have faced so far is about trust. The NFT gaming market is quite new and as it is crypto based there are already two layers of scepticism about it, before anyone even looks into the specs of the project itself. Unfortunately, a lot of the projects out there are what we call “pump and dump” projects, created to rapidly increase the value of a token so the creators can then cash in on it.

Kryptomon is far bigger than this. While NFTs and crypto are the tech on which we have decided to base our project on, that does not mean we are just another “pump and dump”. These tech systems allow us to offer our users a higher, more immersive experience – Trainers have ownership of their individual monster as they would a real pet, for example.

We are investing a lot of time and effort into ensuring that our processes are communicated fully – we are not a “when moon? When lambo?” project – but a real company that values its message and community. I think that proving this will continue to be a struggle but one that I know we can overcome!

What can users expect from Kryptomon if they get into it?

Umberto: In short, a world of wonder and magic! – The experience of each user will depend entirely on when they join Kryptomon. If someone buys an egg from the secondary marketplace, for example, they can explore the traits of their Kryptomon as they grow inside the egg. Owners of Kryptomon become Trainers and they can watch their Kryptomon creature develop individual traits and genes gradually, which are completely down to luck!

When the egg hatches, each Trainer will meet their monster and find out what they look like for the first time. The eggs will be made available to hatch at the same time all over the world so Trainers can celebrate the occasion together as part of the Kryptomon community.

Each Trainer will need to learn what their monster likes and dislikes – just like a real pet! All actions that are required to care for your digital pet (such as feeding and cuddling etc.) will be free, to ensure that every Kryptomon has an equal opportunity to develop and grow.

Kryptomons really do act like real pets – with more training comes more growth and strength, but leave your monster untrained for too long and their stats will begin to regress, meaning you’ll need to start again in terms of creature development and have less of a good chance when it gets to the ‘battle phase’ of Kryptomon.

The ‘battle phase’ of Kryptomon will happen towards the end of this year / early next year.

Source: Kryptomon Academy

What led you personally into the crypto world, and how have you found your journey in crypto?

Umberto: I joined the crypto world back in 2011, before it entered into the mainstream and trust me, it was nothing compared to what we are seeing right now.

As a self-confessed nerd I was enamoured by the idea of crypto, at the time there was only Bitcoin (BTC) on the market which wasn’t really used in games, nonetheless I was hooked by the concept of cryptocurrencies in general. As it was a lot simpler than the world of crypto than we see nowadays, I can’t say I really saw it as an investment. In reality I am a lot happier that I found crypto the way I did; although I didn’t really make any money off of it, it became a passion of mine which is something I can inject into projects like Kryptomon.

There is a lot of talk about Esports, mobile gaming and virtual reality, but what do you think lies ahead in the future of crypto gaming?

Umberto: GameFi has pretty much exploded these past couple of years – and quite a few people have heard of the likes of Axie Infinity, Gods Unchained and Splinterlands, though I do think we’re still ahead of the curve!

There are more than 3bn gamers in the world and I think that more and more mainstream gamers are going to get into the world of crypto gaming. The reason why they haven’t yet is probably because they feel that the crypto world either isn’t trusted enough or isn’t accessible to them and they don’t understand it. It’s our mission at Kryptomon to bridge the gap between crypto land and mainstream gaming, and make GameFi accessible to all.

There’s a new world at the fingertips of gamers, and crypto gaming and NFTs are going to completely reinvent gaming as we know it. More and more people will be involved in ‘Play to Earn’ with more gamers being able to make a living from, and invest in, gaming – as well as having all of the entertainment and enjoyment that regular gaming offers.

How is this emerging sector developing in your own country? How do your family and friends see it?

Umberto: As of today they don’t see it at all; crypto is still not a mainstream topic, add that to the fact that we’re talking about crypto gaming and you enter a whole new world that people understand even less. I think a lot of people around the world don’t even know that crypto gaming is!

I believe that gaming will definitely help blockchain technology become more widely accepted and understood by those outside of the crypto world, as well as those of us who work on crypto projects. Even with some of the biggest crypto games out there today, understanding the steps required to even begin playing the game is a commitment in itself – not everyone has the time or knowledge to invest.

What advice would you give to gamers interested in but unsure about crypto gaming?

Umberto: For anyone unsure about crypto gaming and how to get started, I would say do your research. There are a lot of useful guides and tips for beginners out there. There are some people who like to highlight the negatives of crypto in general but I think this is mainly down to lack of understanding and avoidance to adopt something new. There are negative connotations to cryptocurrency in general – suggesting that it can be used for money laundering or criminal organisations. But how was cold, hard cash used?!

Crypto is going to change the world how we are used to as time goes on! So I recommend you educate yourself as much as you can – and look at the best influencers and media outlets in the cryptocurrency and crypto gaming world to come to a fair and balanced conclusion for yourself. 

If you are still uncertain then feel free to reach out to us! I can’t speak for everyone but I know that at Kryptomon we are here to help, as are our community. You can reach us and our amazing community on Twitter, Telegram and Discord! Our Kryptomon community is like one big, happy family, and we are always here to help.

That’s what Umberto Canessa told us about his views on crypto and of course, Kryptomon. You can learn more about the project by checking out the official Kryptomon page. As with any type of investment, crypto and NFT investments carry risks – always DYOR and invest responsibly.

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