Basketball star Steph Curry has partnered with CryptoKitties as the blockchain-based game expands into celebrity collectables, and ASX-listed Animoca Brands is in line for a slice of the revenue.
Fans will be able to breed a virtual cat version of the two-time NBA MVP as CryptoKitties - one of the first successful attempts at creating a digital collectables market - releases its first celebrity characters.
And Animoca is entitled to 30 per cent of net revenues generated via the CryptoKitties mobile app in China, where Curry's jersey is one of the best selling from the NBA.
Shares in the ASX-listed mobile games firm rose as much as 12 per cent on Tuesday following the announcement of the deal.
Targeting a similar market to that which can value collectables such as Pokemon cards in the hundreds or thousands of dollars, CryptoKitties involves collecting and trading digital characters.
But because it is blockchain-based, counterfeits are difficult and ownership transparent.
Owners can buy, sell and charge sire fees for their creatures using cryptocurrency ether - with the average sale price at 1200 AEST on Tuesday at about 0.141 ETH ($145).
But trading can go much higher, with the first CryptoKitty ever created selling in December for 247 ETH ($149,000 at the time).
CryptoKitties' popularity when it was launched on the Ethereum blockchain last year contributed to an all-time high number of transactions on the blockchain and slowed it down significantly.
Curry comes in three flavours - Steph Fur Three, #30 Furry and Chef Furry - and each cat features the player's signature facial hair and the colours of his Golden State Warriors team.
The reverse auction for the first CurryKitty started at 100 ETH ($103,075).
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