Hamster Kombat is a tap-to-earn crypto game powered by Telegram in which players take on the role of a CEO running a virtual cryptocurrency exchange. The developers describe the game as a “crypto exchange CEO simulator” and not a “clicker” or “tapper” game. ^[1][2]

Overview

Hamster Kombat announced in May 2024 that it would launch a token on The Open Network (TON), a layer-1 blockchain originally created by Telegram before development continued externally by the community. ^[3]

In the game, players begin as a bald hamster who accepts a contract to become the CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange. Users can tap the hamster avatar to generate in-game coins, but the main gameplay mechanic involves purchasing exchange upgrades to increase their hourly profit. ^[4]

Players can earn coins by referring friends to play the game on Telegram or by completing more difficult in-game tasks. These tasks include solving a daily morse-code cipher linked to a secret word found in the game's daily YouTube videos or purchasing a combination of three specific daily upgrades. ^[5]

Hamster Kombat's Growth

In a public post to his Telegram channel’s 2.7 million subscribers, Telegram co-founder, Pavel Durov highlighted Hamster Kombat's growth. Since its launch in March 2024, the game has attracted over 200 million players.

"Hamster Kombat has become the latest Internet phenomenon everyone's talking about. 239 million people have signed up for this Telegram mini app in just 3 months

It took Hamster only 73 days to reach 100 million monthly users. Each day, 4-5 million new users join Hamster Kombat, making it the fastest-growing digital service in the world. - Pavel Durov announced on July 4, 2024^[6]

Soon, Hamster’s team will mint its token on TON, introducing the benefits of blockchain to hundreds of millions of people. - he concluded.

Hamster Kombat's X profile has grown to over 11 million followers since its creation in March 2024. On Telegram, the channel has over 51 million subscribers, and on YouTube, over 32 million subscribers as of July 2024. ^[2][4][9]

HMSTR Airdrop

The Hamster Kombat website notes a target of July 2024 for the token generation event (TGE), which is typically when a token airdrop becomes available for eligible players. Previously, during a Twitter Spaces session in early June, the team also mentioned they were aiming for a July launch. On how the airdrop will be handled, the team tweeted: ^[3]

"Airdrop will depend on the profit per hour and some other [activity] parameters that we will reveal later, NOT the coin balance. Play wisely"^[10]

On July 8, 2024, Bybit exchange announced its listing of Hamster Kombat on its platform for pre-market trading. According to the announcement, Bybit’s pre-market OTC platform launched trading for HMSTR on July 8 at 10:00 am UTC. Details of the delivery schedule will be released shortly, the exchange said. ^[7]

"The inclusion of HMSTR tokens on our Pre-Market platform represents a significant step forward, providing users with the chance to get their hands on HMSTR tokens before they become listed for Spot trading.
This exclusive access allows users to secure HMSTR tokens ahead of the market and to lock in their purchase/sale prices early, marking an innovative advancement in our trading offerings." - Bybit announced^[8]