CyberKongz (launched March 2021) is an NFT collection of 1,000 randomly generated 2D and 3D avatars of gorillas, created by digital artist Myoo. ^[5][1]

Overview

CyberKongz emerged in March 2021 as a set of 1000 exclusive and randomly produced non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Although there was no pre-release advertising campaign, a lot of attention was quickly brought to it by NFT enthusiasts who discovered the minting process on OpenSea and shared their interest on their platform's social media. ^[1]

The 34x34 pixel CyberKongz images achieved popularity due to their suitability as profile pictures on Discord and social media, at a time when nobody was talking about profile picture projects.

Over time, the shared idea of furthering the development of CyberKongz as a community-based project emerged and was hosted by programmers and experts in the NFT and DeFi space, who offered their skills and time to develop the community's ideas.

Genesis CyberKongz

The original collection of CyberKongz had 1000 avatars of which 10 were Legendary. Although, the initial price for Genesis CyberKongz was pretty low, early supporters got to yield 10 BANANA tokens for 10 years in the future. ^[6][5]

The Genesis CyberKongs were ideal for profile pictures and there are a few utilities users can spend the BANANA tokens on, such as setting the story of a Kong by altering the biography, renaming a Kong with a nickname, breeding 2 Genesis to create 1 Incubator, and unlocking exclusive channels on the CyberKongz Discord server. ^[6]

Baby Kongz

In order to expand on the Genesis CyberKongz, the team behind the CyberKongz project decided to allow users to pair up their NFTs from the original collection to get a new Baby Kongz. Every baby yields 10 'Shardz' (points yielded by Baby CyberKongz in a wallet per day). ^[7]

With 100 Shardz, a user can claim a 'Charmz' (ERC-1155 NFTs that can be consumed by a crew of CyberKongz VX to increase their possible loot from adventure runs). ^[7]

A few utility users can spend the BANANA tokens on include, setting the story of a BabyKong by altering the biography, renaming the BabyKong, and unlocking exclusive channels on the CyberKongz Discord server. ^[6]

CyberKongz VX

CyberKongz VX are unique and randomly generated 3D NFT Social Avatars for the Metaverse and interoperability with The Sandbox. CyberKongz VX owners can have access to the Sandbox, Decentraland, and other metaverses, they can rename a VX Kong by spending $BANANA, download the models to create their own artwork or use in merch, and finally, they can unlock #verified-lounge - an exclusive channel on the CyberKongz Discord server. ^[8]

BANANA Token

$BANANA token is the official utility token of the CyberKongz NFT. Each owner of the original NFT Genesis CyberKongz gets 10 BANANA tokens each day, and the tokens are burned with every transaction that demands it such as name change, bio changes, breeding, and incubating the Baby Kongz, and so on. 3,650,000 $BANANA will be generated per year until March 18th, 2031. ^[9][10]

Utility

• Breed: Users can hold two Genesis Kongz in their wallet and burn 600 $BANANA to receive an incubator. ^[10]
• Customize: Users can acquire lore for Kongz on the blockchain for 100 $BANANA, rename for 10 $BANANA, update the VX name for 2 $BANANA, etc. ^[10]
• Play & Kollect: With 0.4 $BANANA, users can send a CyberKongz VX on a jungle adventure to kollect exclusive NFTs, Kongium, parts of the seasonal $BANANA prize pool, and more. ^[10]
• Vote: $BANANA token, is also part of the CyberKongz voting system. ^[11]

Play & Kollect CyberKongz

The CyberKongz team introduced the Play and Kollect project in January 2022. It is a fully on-chain gaming experience on the Polygon network. The game's main objective is to explore the Jungle Adventure and take a CyberKongz VX to gather Kongium Ore and redeem them for prizes. ^[6][12]

Tokongnomics

Tokongnomics is a detailed description of the Kongz' NFT total supply, distribution, sales, and the entirety of utility of the CyberKongz (VX) ecosystem working together to benefit its owner. The CyberKongz (VX) is built on the Ethereum blockchain using the ERC-20 contract. $BANANA token is also minted on the Ethereum blockchain. ^[4]

The ticker symbol for the native NFT of the Cyberkongz NFTs is VX. CyberKongz (VX) has a total supply of 15,000 VX tokens.

CyberKongz's $BANANA token is an ERC-20 token that can be used for utilities in the CyberKongz ecosystem and various activities such as breeding baby kongz, naming, or being used as payment on OpenSea. ^[4]

Council of Kongz

The Council of Kongz is a group of anonymous members who are actively involved in the CyberKongz NFT platform. The avatars are quite descriptive of each member, all with unique rarities and appearances. The entirety of this council constitutes of ten anonymous members with the aliases; Myoo, Lxxy, Seb, Sventar, Coco_Bear, Clumsier, Owl, Metal, Wallace, and Inverted. ^[2]

Partnership with The Metakey

In July 2021 CyberKongzs announced its partnership Metakey (NFT) as its partner for the era of CyberKongz VX. The Metakey is a utility-focused project granting holders benefits throughout the Metaverse, and driving interoperability with the idea that a single Metakey (NFT) provides lifetime access to the Metaverse. ^[13]

The Klaw!

On September 23, 2022, CyberKongz upgraded its "Play and Kollect" gaming ecosystem with the addition of "The Klaw!," an expansion game that introduces craftings into CyberKongz's economy. ^[14]

The Klaw! requires a 'Golden Ticket' (ERC-1155 NFTs utilized for a one-time use of The Klaw!), which can be collected through the gaming ecosystem through full tickets and 'Shredz' (transferrable ERC-1155 NFTs also used to craft Golden Tickets). ^[14][15]

The Golden Ticket is inserted into The Klaw machine, and then a randomized NFT is awarded to the player. The reward comes from a pool of more than 1,300 NFTs selected by the CyberKongz community. The Klaw also helps introduce CyberKongz holders to other NFT collections.^[14][15]

"While building an interactive and fair protocol for the distribution of NFTs and other tokens through Play & Kollect, we always wanted to expand the functionality by adding a way to distribute NFTs from other collections," - the team wrote in its announcement

Website Update

On March 14, 2023, CyberKongz released its new website which was marked as a rebrand. The website features a detailed timeline section that highlights the Kongz community's accomplishments, such as the first-ever Kongz NFT auction, while the Blueprints page dives into Metaverse integrations, social impacts, etc. ^[16]

"With this new website, CyberKongz aims to highlightour community, accomplishments, kollections, and the story of who we are" - the team wrote in its announcement.

NFT Security with ERC-721x

On June 26, 2023, Cyberkongz introduced the ERC721x^[17] developed by CyberKongz lead Solidity Dev, OwlofMoistness^[20] as a way to combat scams and hacks in the NFT space. ^[19]

The ERC721x standard offers multiple layers of security, providing NFT holders with on-chain 2-Factor Authentication (2FA). By designating a second wallet as a “Guardian,” users can prevent unauthorized transfers of their assets. ^[18]

There are 2 layers to ERC721x, ‘locking’ and ‘guarding’;

Locking

When an NFT is locked, it becomes immovable and is registered in the lock registry. This allows whitelisted addresses to lock and unlock assets efficiently. The lock registry is a lightweight system built on the ERC721 standard and requires minimal gas consumption. The locking mechanism enables parallel staking, allowing assets to be utilized across multiple systems while remaining securely locked in place. ^[18]

Guarding

The Guardian Contract operates similarly to locking but with some adjustments. Rather than the original wallet holding the NFT (Wallet A) locking it, a second wallet (Wallet B) is designated as the Guardian. The Guardian wallet can then initiate a second locking of the assets held by Wallet A. Consequently, any transfers or approvals for the asset require the approval of the Guardian wallet, ensuring an additional layer of on-chain 2FA. It is highly recommended to use a hard or cold wallet as the Guardian wallet to maximize security. ^[18]

Migration & The Genkai Mint

In July 2023, CyberKongz announced that it would migrate its Play and Kollect game from the Polygon sidechain to the Ronin sidechain, which is the network created by Axie Infinity. The reason for the migration was to leverage the scalability, security, and user experience of Ronin, as well as to collaborate with Axie Infinity on future projects. ^[21]

As part of the migration, CyberKongz launched a new collection called CyberKongz Genkai, an anime-inspired NFT collection, across both Ronin and the Ethereum mainnet which features 20,000 NFTs with different attributes and rarities. ^[21][22]

“Genkai is the first non-pixel artwork I have created for CyberKongz, and will represent our growth as a project to expand our IP into the Southeast Asian and Japanese markets. Additionally, CyberKongz will be working with Ronin to develop a game featuring Genkai.” - said pseudonymous CyberKongz founder and artist Myoo in a statement. ^[23]

Out of the 20,000 NFTs, 16,000 were minted on the Ethereum blockchain, while 4,000 NFTs were minted on the Ronin blockchain. The public mint on Ethereum started on July 27, 2023, at a price of 0.25 ETH per NFT. The public mint on Ronin started on July 29, 2023, at a price of 0.05 ETH per NFT. Additionally, holders of Mystic Axie NFTs received a complimentary Genkai NFT on Ronin as a reward for their loyalty. ^[23][22]