After a yearlong study, economists at Stanford University have officially pinpointed the origins of cryptocurrency to the Neopian Marketplace on Neopets.com.
“While many credit Bitcoin as the first cryptocurrency, most don’t realize that the concept of a fully online currency was initially pioneered by the beloved childhood website,” said Professor Roberta Hendricks, who led the study. “Bitcoin was introduced in 2009, but that was a full ten years after Neopets had already established a flourishing digital financial system.”
Professor Hendricks pointed specifically to the Neopian Marketplace on the online world as the nexus.
“See, users from all over the world needed a virtual space to buy and sell items for their Neopets – food, potions, and whatnot. Thus the Neopian Marketplace was born. And as with all economic systems, a form of currency was needed to control value. This demand created the first cryptocurrency, Neocoins – all completely online, completely decentralized.”
The researchers’ findings will have profound effects on its academic community, namely giving a definitive answer to the history of cryptocurrency, which has always been widely disputed.
“Previous studies from our colleagues at other institutions have pointed to WShop on Webkinz or the Town Center on Club Penguin – hell, some of the more radical economists at Vassar have even said the Auction Shop on MapleStory as the originator,” said Professor Hendricks.
“But our research shows it once and for all – the Neopian Marketplace is where it all began. Just look at the intricacies of its economic system, lightyears before anyone else! It basically wrote the book on blockchain technology.”
The study also found strong evidence of correlation between Neopet users and the proliferation of cryptocurrency today.
“It’s sounds remarkable, really, that cryptocurrency started with a bunch of tweens in the aughts. But chronologically, it makes sense that these same tweens would grow up to be the first users of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, given their familiarity with online financial systems,” said PhD candidate Jenna Nguyen, whose own childhood experience with the website is what led to the breakthrough.
“The Neopian Marketplace really trained a whole generation on the accessibility and efficiency of digital currency,” Professor Hendricks marvelled. “Who knew it would be such a game-changer for economics as we now know it?”
The discovery of the Neopian Marketplace’s profound impact on cryptocurrency will shape the field for decades to come. Already, the economists at Stanford are using this discovery as groundwork to trace how the Neopian Marketplace also led directly to NFTs.
“In many ways, it’s a continuation of our research,” said Nguyen, “by recognizing the Neopian Marketplace as the foundation of all digital financial systems, we can not only ascertain how the Neopian Marketplace led to NFTs, but maybe also finally learn what the fuck exactly NFTs are.”
