- The cryptocurrency world is abuzz with talk of digital collectibles, unique virtual tokens that can represent anything from art to sports memorabilia. People have been paying hundreds of thousands.
- The use of Crypto in the sports department is still in a very nascent stage but this move has given the global industry confidence in the same. It was the first-ever move in this direction and it has further opened doors for other crypto players to enter this space in the future.
- All Sports (SOC) is a cryptocurrency and operates on the Ethereum platform. All Sports has a current supply of 1,500,000,000 with 1,499,865,8 in circulation. The last known price of All Sports is 0.00451878 USD and is down -2.68 over the last 24 hours.
The National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Sacramento Kings has announced the launch of a new live auction platform, developed in partnership with blockchain development firm, ConsenSys.
AP / ADOBE / DESIGNED BY MARIO PAULUS Socios.com, a cryptocurrency platform that has issued tokens for sports fans of 10 European soccer clubs including Juventus, FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, is rolling out a wish list where fans make deposits to buy cryptocurrency from major teams that haven’t yet issued any blockchain -based bucks.
The platform, built on the Ethereum blockchain, enables fans to bid live on sports memorabilia. It uses the blockchain to authenticate the provenance of the items and create a transparent audit trail, recording the gear’s entire transaction history. The Kings will kick things off by auctioning starting guard Buddy Hield’s jersey from Wednesday’s (15 January) game against the Dallas Mavericks.
'The total value of the [United States] sports memorabilia market has been valued at $5.4 billion annually, yet there are no industry standards for authenticating items and protecting fans from purchasing counterfeit merchandise,' the companies said in a statement. 'Through this partnership, the Kings and ConsenSys are effectively increasing the resale potential for authenticated merchandise on secondary markets.'
This move is the latest in a string of crypto-related ventures from the Kings. The team made a sporting first when it decided to accept Bitcoin payments back in 2014. In 2018, they became the first to start mining Ethereum. The Kings joined forces with MiningStore, donating the Ethereum they mined to Build Black, a charity that promotes “proactive investment and radical transformation for Black communities.”
However, the Kings aren’t the only sporting giant dabbling in crypto. A host of teams from across the world of sport have now turned to crypto – whether for new revenue avenues or building closer bonds with fans.
Tokenisation
The concept of tokenisation has been around for several years now. A token offers holders part ownership of a product or service through a unique, cryptographically-secure digital asset. Holders are empowered to vote on changes to the product and have other privileges.
This feeling of ownership is already common among sports fans. It’s logical, therefore, for teams, and even players, to explore such an avenue. Just this week, Bitcoin enthusiast and Brooklyn Nets starting point guard, Spencer Dinwiddie launched his own digital token. Dinwiddie has used his $34.36-million three-year contract as collateral, allowing him to trade future income for a smaller payment immediately.
Investors/fans are paid principal and interest, though there are risks should the player get injured. There are also certain perks. If he's voted into the All-Star Game lineup next month, for instance, he plans to bring eight investors along with him.
Football teams are also getting in on the act. In December of last year, Juventus announced the launch of the world’s first Fan Token Offering (FTO). Holders of the Juventus Fan Tokens ($JUV) will be able to vote on some specific decisions made by the club, such as changes to the club’s jersey. They can also earn rewards while doing so, as well as access exclusive content and memorabilia.
Juventus Fan Tokens were created by Socios.com, who are also reportedly working with Paris Saint Germaine, West Ham and Roma, among others. Socios Founder and CEO Alexander Dreyfus, called the $JUV token “a seminal moment for football.”
“It’s also a huge step forward into the mainstream for blockchain and cryptocurrency,” he added. “Through Socios.com, regular football fans are being introduced to cryptocurrencies, as well as a blockchain platform where they can take part in the club’s decision-making process using digital assets.”
Partnerships
The start of the 2019/20 Premier League was notable for several reasons. Sheffield United returned after a 12 year absence, for one. But there was also big news for cryptocurrency, as the Bitcoin logo appeared on Watford’s sleeve.
Watford’s new sleeve sponsorship deal is part of a wider campaign by online sports betting brand Sportsbet.io. Its goal is to improve awareness around Bitcoin and educate the public on the benefits of using cryptocurrencies.
Justin Le Brocque, Head of Sportsbet.io Marketing, explained: “The crypto community have been hugely supportive of us since we began, so putting the Bitcoin logo on the sleeve felt like a fun way to give something back while also showing them our support.”
Trading platform eToro has also got an advertising sponsorship deal with seven Premier League sides. The deal, which was paid entirely with Bitcoin, sees eToro branding featured on pitch side advertising boards and other mediums. Newcastle, Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and Hove Albion, Cardiff, Crystal Palace, Leicester City and Southampton were part of the deal.
Back in the US, National Football League (NFL) team the Miami Dolphins has an official cryptocurrency – Litecoin. The deal means fans can pay with cryptocurrency throughout Hard Rock Stadium. Litecoin also receives access to in-game branding and advertising at Hard Rock Stadium, as well as online properties and digital content.
Collectibles
Non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are digital assets stored on a global blockchain. They are used for digital collectibles. The most famous example was CryptoKitties – digital cats stored on the Ethereum blockchain that could be collected and traded.
Our very own Crypto Kitty
German football giant Bayern Munich have launched a similar project – a series of football cards of varying degrees of rarity stored on the blockchain. Last Christmas, 48 limited edition playing cards were auctioned off to 24 of the club’s members. They raised over 240 ETH in winning bids.
Panini America also recently announced the release of officially licensed trading cards based on blockchain. The trading cards will feature Panini’s National Treasure design and include iconic athletes past and present. These include baseball legend, Mickey Mantle, basketball hero, Shaquille O’Neal, and many more.
What industries do you see as having the most to gain from cryptocurrency? How else can sport stand to benefit from crypto and blockchain? Let us know on Twitter.
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Since PayPal announced late last year that it was making a foray into cryptocurrencies, investment has been flooding into the market. In particular, the price of has spiked, leading to much speculation about crypto going mainstream.
However, this has happened before. Bitcoin’s previous all-time high led to a sudden surge of interest that cooled off into the long “crypto winter” of 2018. If cryptocurrencies, and the that underpins them, are ever to unlock mainstream adoption, then real-world utility combined with a compelling user experience is more likely to provide the key. Looking at recent news trends, combined with the macro events of 2020, and currently seem to be one of the hottest tickets.
Due to a lack of attendance at in-person events this year, the global esports market shrank slightly, but it’s forecast to grow by over 50 percent in the next three years, rising to $1.6 billion. Analysts within the crypto sector already believe there’s vast potential to tap into this market, with digital research firm Messari predicting mass adoption of blockchain technology. The market demographic fits well into this scenario – predominantly male, aged 18-34 and based in economically developed countries.
Crypto entrepreneurs capitalize on esports
According to some of the latest news reports, blockchain and esports entrepreneurs are seeking to capitalize on the opportunity to converge the markets. Esports personality Susie Kim recently confirmed that she is launching her own custom fan cryptocurrency called SUSIE. Her followers can use it to buy access to private Discord chats and shoutouts on her social channels.
She joins an existing group of 30 gamers, creators and influencers who have issued their own cryptocurrency on the Rally platform, which is backed by Andreessen Horowitz and other VC Firms. Kim is credited with helping gaming streaming platform Twitch to build its presence in South Korea.
Elsewhere, FirstBlood Technologies has been operating an online competitive gaming platform using the blockchain-based Dawn Protocol since 2016. It uses its own token but has recently announced an integration with MakerDAO to incorporate the crypto-backed DAI stablecoin into its games.
Esports competitors on the platform will be able to participate in tournaments using DAI and win the stablecoin in a series of events taking place over the coming months. This is an intriguing development, given it creates a link between esports and decentralized finance, which has so far existed as a niche in the crypto sector.
Crypto Sports Betting
Crypto wunderkind Justin Sun, the founder of Tron, is never one to miss a trick when it comes to the latest market opportunities in crypto. In late October, it emerged that BitTorrent, which was acquired by Tron in 2019, was taking over DLive.tv, a blockchain-based esports streaming service.
Related: Decentralized Finance Is on the Rise. What You Need to Know in 2021.
Crypto Spot Exchange
NFTs - the new frontier of gaming
Beyond esports, blockchain and the broader gaming sphere are providing entrepreneurs with further inroads into mainstream adoption. Gaming is one of the few sectors that has benefitted from the 2020 pandemic, as people have looked for new ways of entertaining themselves at home.
One trend that’s definitely making a resurgence is non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which allow blockchain innovators to issue one-of-a-kind digital assets with unique attributes. It’s a feature that lends itself particularly well to gaming, as it means users can acquire in-game assets of value that are stored securely on a blockchain.
Online gamer PewDiePie, aka Felix Kjellberg, has amassed an incredible 107 million followers on YouTube alone. So when he speaks, the online gaming world tends to listen. He’s been a longtime supporter of blockchain in gaming, but most recently, he’s lent his support to the blockchain-based 3D game Wallem. The game uses NFTs for skins and other items, also rewarding players in -based tokens. PewDiePie has issued his own NFT representing one of his skins that can be purchased and used in the Wallem virtual world.
Early November also saw a slew of NFT-based gaming announcements. Animoca Brands, a blockchain-based gaming firm, confirmed a licensing agreement with the racing game Formula E to create a game using NFTs. Formula E holds 14 races across five continents every season, pulling in viewership of 411 million.
Sports Cryptocurrency
Another blockchain gaming project, Enjin, announced via Twitter that it was partnering with Canadian firm Skymarch entertainment to develop a further three NFT-based games. These include a collectible card game called Crystals of Fate and an RPG called Zeal.
Digital pets have enduring appeal
Spot Cryptocurrency
Longtime crypto enthusiasts will remember that NFT’s first became popular in 2017 when the craze for digital cat artwork, Cryptokitties, started congesting the Ethereum blockchain. It seems that there’s a sustained enthusiasm for digital pets, as Axie Infinity has risen to become one of the most used decentralized applications in the Ethereum ecosystem. Axie Infinity allows users to breed and battle their own digital creatures. The project recently confirmed it was partnering with blockchain giant Chainlink for a decentralized oracle service to price the assets traded on its native marketplace more accurately.
Sports Cryptocurrency
At this rapid pace of development, it’s evident that the convergence of blockchain and crypto with gaming and esports provides many opportunities for users, innovators and established players in the space. Even if the current Bitcoin bull run doesn’t sustain, blockchain and gaming is a segment that’s definitely worth watching over the coming months and years.