Category: Sports

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Crypto News NFTs Sports

NBA Launches 18,000 Dynamic NFTs Dubbed ‘The Association’

The US National Basketball Association (NBA) this week began minting its Ethereum NFT collection of 18,000 assets, imaginatively titled ‘The Association‘.

Each Association NFT represents a real NBA player in this year’s playoffs, with 75 NFTs of each player from the 16 NBA teams participating. NFT traits will evolve over the course of the playoffs based on each player’s actual performance, meaning that the associated number of dunks, blocks, three-pointers, rebounds or assists will change that player’s image. NFT backgrounds and “frames” will also change based on the player’s team’s performance.

NFTs Free But Gas Fees Apply

According to the NBA website, the NFTs will be free to mint but interested collectors will foot the bill for gas fees on Ethereum. That said, the NBA is reserving some assets for holders of NBA Top Shot NFTs, with a maximum of one per wallet.

Fans qualify on a first-come, first-served basis by joining the NBA Discord group and connecting their digital wallet to the initiative’s website. However, the list is already full.

After the presale minting, the NFT art will be revealed on April 22 and viewable on NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea.

Not every basketball fan is impressed by these developments, with some taking the launch team to task on Twitter:

Others claimed The Association NFTs were already “overallocated”:

NFT Bubble Fit to Burst

Controversy over the NBA’s Association collection echoes the disgruntlement of Australian Football League fans, who this week also took to Twitter to deride the launch of the indigenous code’s NFT marketplace.

Has the NFT bubble burst? Though there are sporadic signs of life in the sports sphere, the consensus is that non-fungible fatigue has well and truly set in.

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Australia Crypto News Metaverse NFTs Sports

Fans Push Back as AFL Launches NFT Marketplace

In the same week that the Australian Football League (AFL) cracked down on players dissenting the on-field decisions of umpires, fans of the indigenous code have registered their own disapproval of the league’s recent move into the NFT space.

Earlier this month, the AFL announced a five-year partnership with Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands to bring both the men’s and women’s leagues into the metaverse. In a unique revenue-distribution deal, players stand to receive 20 percent of the spoils from the sale of NFTs associated with the sport, Australia’s most popular football code in terms of supporter numbers.

NFT Fatigue Seeps into Sports

Star English Premier League team Liverpool FC launched its own NFT collection earlier this month. It was a spectacular failure, with only 6 percent of the offering sold.

Providing further evidence of growing fatigue within the NFT space, AFL supporters have greeted news of the code’s upcoming NFT mint with indifference and derision, if not outright hostility:

A Twitter war of sorts has been declared, with some punters going as far as to express their “embarrassment” on behalf of the AFL’s dalliance with NFTs:

One disgruntled punter accused the “suits” within the AFL of ruining the code:

Too Much, Too Soon?

Perhaps the AFL’s deeper engagement with crypto is happening all too quickly for some supporters of the code. In January this year, the league secured a major sponsorship deal with Crypto.com, worth A$25 million over five years. It’s one of the biggest sponsorships of any kind in Australian sport, eclipsing the AFL’s partnership with major sponsor Toyota, worth A$18.5 million.

Several AFL clubs – including the Sydney Swans, Western Bulldogs and reigning premier the Melbourne Demons – now have direct sponsorship deals involving cryptocurrency companies other than Crypto.com. Late last year, Australian digital assets exchange Swyftx entered a major two-year partnership with the Brisbane Lions.

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Australia Events Metaverse NFTs Sports

Cricket Australia to Launch Official NFTs of Memorable Moments

Taking its first official step into the space, Cricket Australia will launch an official range of NFTs marking some of the most memorable moments in Australian cricket, joining a boom industry which has already recorded US$11.8 billion in trading volume this year.

The NFTs will be available to own and trade under an NFT licensing agreement. Cricket Australia (CA) and the Australian Cricketers Association (ACA) have announced a multi-year partnership with Singapore-based collectibles platform Rario and NFT trading company BlockTrust, which will mint historic incidents in Australian cricket.

Cricket lovers globally can now own and trade NFTs of key events in the sport that took place on Australian soil. According to a tweet by Rario, the partnership will “give cricket lovers the opportunity to own a part of the sport they love and indulge in cricket NFT-based games in the Rario metaverse”:

Relive Australian Cricket History

As with all sports memorabilia, the value of NFTs is determined by demand, and there is certainly demand in a cricket-obsessed nation such as Australia. This partnership means that unique, digital versions of moments such as Steve Waugh’s Ashes hundred on the last ball of the day at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2003, Peter Siddle’s Ashes hat-trick in 2010, and Ellyse Perry’s double century in 2017 will now be available to own and trade.

Fans of the sport are understandably excited by the news:

Environmental Concerns Bowled Out

NFTs have long been criticised for their associated high carbon emissions, but in a joint statement, Rario, CA and the ACA say they are “committed to a partnership that [will see] NFTs produced in a sustainable manner”. The cricket NFTs will make use of the Ethereum side-chain Polygon, which they say “translates to more eco-friendliness and considerably fewer carbon emissions”.

Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said in a statement:

We are excited to step into the metaverse with our partners Rario, BlockTrust and the ACA for this historic deal, which will open up huge opportunities for innovation and fan engagement. The game’s deep connection with its past, the passion of our fans and the appeal of Australian cricketers to a global audience means the incorporation of NFTs is another way that fans can engage and be part of the sport. This is just the start and I have no doubt we will see enormous benefit for fans, players and the sport itself as we build this exciting partnership.

Nick Hockley, CEO, Cricket Australia

Todd Greenberg, CEO of the ACA, issued his own statement:

Once you begin to learn about NFTs you soon understand [that] the engagement possibilities between past and present players [and] fans are huge. We all look forward to bringing this program to life in the coming months with new and innovative concepts.

Todd Greenberg, CEO, Australian Cricketers Association

Cricket NFTs Are No New Idea

Although this collection of NFTs will capture memorable moments in Australian cricket history, it is not the first time the sport has entered the NFT space. Last year, Crypto News Australia reported how Aussie legend Adam Gilchrist would digitise cricket moments to NFTs. The world’s first cricket-based NFTs were also launched last year ahead of the T20 World Cup.

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DAO NFTs Sports

WAGMI United DAO Completes Acquisition of Crawley Town Football Club

The crypto sports brand WAGMI United has acquired Crawley Town Football Club, but the “pioneering purchase” is already proving to be controversial among its fans.

They Shoot, They Score!

WAGMI United is now the first cryptocurrency company to own a football club after it announced the acquisition of the Crawley Town Football Club, based in West Sussex, England, via a press release. WAGMI – which stands for “We’re All Gonna Make It” – is a new brand that exists between the “intersection of crypto and sports”. WAGMI United last year failed in its takeover bid of another English club, Yorkshire’s Bradford City, which has aimed to rely on NFTs as an ownership model.

The group now says it wants to “empower fans to take a personal stake in telling their team’s story and shaping its future” at Crawley. Ziya Eren, the club’s chairman and owner, and chief executive Erdem Konyar are set to exit the board, with WAGMI co-founder Preston Johnson and Eben Smith taking over.

Johnson has said, “Crawley Town Football Club is a club with more than 125 years of rich history that we revere and respect. However, a conventional approach to ownership hasn’t worked and the club is losing hundreds of thousands of pounds while its fans suffer through year after year of uninspiring results on the pitch.

We’re going to shake up the status quo, try out some new ideas, and build a worldwide community of fans new and old that can be excited to cheer on the Red Devils together – stretching from West Sussex to anywhere in the world with an internet connection.

Preston Johnson, WAGMI co-founder

The pair say they want to harness the power of Web3 to expand the club’s global fanbase and open up new revenue streams, such as selling NFTs that give “fans” influence over the way the club operates.

Supporters of Crawley Town Football Club are, however, a little apprehensive and have taken to Twitter to express their reservations:

DAOs Try to Take Over Sport

This is not the first time a decentralised autonomous organisation (DAO) has tried to buy a sports club, though WAGMI has succeeded in its attempt. Earlier in the year, another DAO, ‘BuytheBroncos DAO’, tried to purchase US National Football League (NFL) team the Denver Broncos for US$4 billion.

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Bitcoin Crypto News Crypto.com Sports

UFC Fighters Can Now Receive Their Bonuses in Bitcoin

The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is taking its partnership with Crypto.com to the next level with the introduction of “Fan Bonus of the Night” – an innovative collaboration with the major exchange where fans vote on the allocation of fighter bonuses for pay-per-view (PPV) events to be paid out in bitcoin:

Fans Allocate Fighter Bonuses

Until now, the decision as to which fighters delivered performances worthy of a bonus lay solely with UFC matchmakers. However, since the advent of “Fan Bonus of the Night”, fans are now able to participate in what is always a controversial decision.

The inaugural fan bonuses will commence this weekend at UFC 273, headlined by Aussie featherweight champion Alexander “The Great” Volkanovski, who defends his crown against South Korean veteran TKZ, otherwise known as “The Korean Zombie”.

Alex Volkanovski (@alexvolkanovski) | Twitter
Alex Volkanovski proudly representing the Australian flag. Source: UFC

Voting for the “Fan Bonus of the Night” will take place on Crypto.com and is open to all users globally. Each fan will get three votes per PPV and can vote for two fighters within each bout. Voting opens at the start of the PPV prelims and ends one hour after the conclusion of the event. 

Bonuses on Top of Bonuses

In total, three bitcoin bonuses will be awarded, ranging from US$10,000 to U$30,000. Given that fighter pay remains a hot topic within the MMA community, it’s worth noting that these fan bonuses will be in addition to fighter salaries, as well as the U$50,000 “Fight of the Night” and “Performance of the Night” bonuses typically awarded.

“Uncle Dana”, as UFC president Dana White is affectionately known by fans and MMA (mixed martial arts) journalists alike, spoke positively about Crypto.com’s proactive approach to increasing fan engagement:

They’re [Crypto.com] constantly coming up with new ideas about how we can work together to connect with the fans. This new Fan Bonus of the Night is an awesome way to get fans more engaged in our events while rewarding the fighters for bad-ass performances.

Dana White, UFC president

In 2021 we saw a flurry of professional athletes elect to take their earnings in bitcoin, and this trends appears to be picking up steam. In January, UFC heavyweight champion Francis “The Predator” Ngannou elected to take half his fight purse in bitcoin, saying: “I believe bitcoin can empower people everywhere.”

As an inflation-resistant savings technology, it’s hard to argue with The Predator’s assessment of Bitcoin. However, given his knockout power, you’d probably be inclined to agree with him irrespective:

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Australia Crypto News NFTs Sports

AFL Set to Launch NFT Collection with 20% of Revenue Going to the Players

In a goal kicked firmly between the posts for the code’s ongoing NFT adoption, the Australian Football League (AFL) has struck a unique revenue-distribution deal that could see players get 20 percent of the spoils from the sale of non-fungible tokens associated with the sport.

It’s a Goal for NFTs, the AFL and Animoca Brands

CEO Gillon McLachlan has revealed that the AFL has plans in place to team up with Hong Kong-based Animoca Brands, one of the world’s leading blockchain gaming and NFT studios, collectively worth more than US$5 billion.

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan. Source: Fox Sports

McLachlan has also confirmed that a deal with the AFL Players Association will ensure that players receive a 20 percent cut of the revenue derived from the sales of official AFL NFTs.

And for all the fans out there still talking about the 1,000-goal milestone achieved by Sydney Swan Lance “Buddy” Franklin (pictured, below), there will be an NFT for that, and multiple other NFTs based around the March 25 event.

Buddy Franklin moment. Source: AFL

“There’ll be a Buddy 1,000 NFT,” confirmed McLachlan, adding: “The team is working on that at the moment. There’ll be lots of NFTs that come out of that because it was a pretty unique event. That was one that will have a lot of value.”

It looks like the Sydney star’s 1,000th-goal NFT will entail a range of different takes on his achievement, which could include animation or perhaps video footage.

“There’ll be one official NFT of him kicking that [1,000th] goal. Whether it’s animated [or not], there’ll be different versions of it,” McLachlan said. He also hinted that there will be plenty of other AFL NFTs to be sold at reasonable prices, and “some unique stuff that will be among some of the most expensive [NFTs] we do”.

AFL Approaches Mainstream Crypto Adoption

As Ben Simpson, CEO of Melbourne-based crypto research and education platform Collective Shift, has said, “I think we’re really starting to hit mainstream adoption in crypto and NFTs.” He pointed out that cryptocurrency companies now account for a significant percentage of the AFL’s major sponsors.

Two months ago, the AFL signed an A$25 million five-year sponsorship deal with Crypto.com, and the Australian digital assets exchange Swyftx also announced a major two-year partnership with the Brisbane Lions. Other AFL clubs, including premier Melbourne, the West Coast Eagles, Adelaide Crows, Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs, also have crypto sponsors.

“What is most exciting in my opinion about NFTs in sport is that the players can take a share of the revenue of all sales of those NFTs forever. Lance [Franklin] will earn a direct percentage cut from that 1,000th-goal NFT,” Simpson said. He added that in the past, only the sporting organisations or governing bodies took revenue and profits, but NFTs and smart contracts can enable a percentage of the revenues to be distributed to players.

Matt Willemsen, head of research at Collective Shift, spoke in a YouTube video about the revenue-distribution aspect of the deal:

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Blockchain Fantasy Sports Gaming NFTs Sports

Blockchain Soccer Game GOALS Nets $15 Million Seed Funding for Multiplayer Venture

Young Swedish start-up GOALS has announced that its seed funding round netted a profit of US$15 million. The round was led by venture capital firm Northzone alongside the CEO of Sorare and its strategic adviser, a very well-known football player.

The e-sports game features a play-to-own mechanism with players, clubs and skins available in the form of digital assets. This means that once you own one of these NFTs, it’s yours for as long as you wish to keep it – unlike soccer game giant FIFA, which only lets a player hold a skin for a limited time.

Barcelona Defender Gerard Pique Among the Donors

Despite being barely a year old – GOALS was founded in May 2021 – the venture is receiving a lot of support. Northzone, Cherry and Moonfire venture capital firms were just some of the notable names contributing to the seed funding round.

Nicolas Julia, CEO of Sorare (another prominent blockchain football game), and strategic adviser Gerard Pique, the famous Barcelona FC defender, were also among the donors.

Barcelona FC star defender Gerard Pique, who is also Sorare’s strategic adviser. Source: everythingbarca.com

GOALS is free to play, with the game taking a small cut of each marketplace transaction. You can check out the GOALS project trailer below:

Football Follows in Sorare’s Bootsteps

Sorare Crypto Fantasy Football paved the way for GOALS in the field of blockchain-based football games. The game enables fans to collect and trade player cards to compete for prizes. Since Sorare’s development in 2018, the game has gone from strength to strength, notably raising US$680 million in its September 2021 fundraising round.

If you’re interested in learning more about Sorare and how it works, Crypto News Australia has put together an independent review of the game. You can find it here.

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Crypto News NFTs Sports

Liverpool FC’s NFT Launch Flops as Only 6% Have Sold

Top-two English Premier League team Liverpool Football Club’s much-maligned foray into the world of NFTs has been heralded a spectacular flop, with less than 6 percent of the collection’s 171,072 NFTs sold in the first week:

LFC Heroes Club Launched Despite Pushback

Last week’s release of ‘LFC Heroes Club‘ was intended to be a “fun and innovative way to celebrate being an LFC fan”, featuring 171,072 NFTs starting at US$75, including 24 “Legendary” one-of-one editions.

LFC Heroes Club. Source: Liverpool FC

The LFC collectibles were available for purchase across a three-day sale window from March 30 until April 1, with half the proceeds going to the superclub’s charitable foundation. At the time, fans complained that the release was exploitative and merely an attempt to increase revenues:

The Market Has Spoken

After paying out the promised donations to the LFC Foundation, the club is set to bring in around US$590,000 through the NFT launch, despite sales projections exceeding US$11.2 million.

At the time writing, only 9,721 out of a possible 171,072 NFTs have sold, making LFC Heroes one of the biggest NFT flops in recent memory.

Over the past 12 months, we’ve become accustomed to brands leveraging NFTs to increase revenues and consumer engagement. In the process, countless organisations have faced backlash from fans for their efforts, including SEGA, Salesforce and Uber.

Sadio Mané. Source: Liverpool Football Club

While environmental concerns are often cited, consumer exploitation is the most common cause for complaint, as was the case with the LFC Heroes Club:

It remains unclear why this particular collection of JPEGs failed relative to others that have sold for millions. Either way, the market has spoken.

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Chiliz FTX NFTs Sports

Chiliz (CHZ) Surges Amid Launch of Testnet Enabling Sports Brands to Mint NFTs

Chiliz, creator of the fan token Socios, is inviting brands to build alongside it on Chiliz Chain 2.0 blockchain network, which launched its first testnet on March 31.

The digital asset sporting project has announced the launch of the Scoville testnet for its newly established layer-1 blockchain network, Chiliz Chain 2.0, also known as CC2.

CC2 is aiming to advance the Web3 capabilities of high-profile sporting and entertainment firms to create NFTs and fan tokens, and construct DeFi applications and play-to-earn games along with implementing a range of programs and services for their community:

Chiliz Scores High on the Scoville Scale

Chiliz has defined the fan token market with its Socios platform, signing football heavyweights such as FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus, along with the UFC, F1 teams and esports clubs, with more than 130 partners in total. Argentinian football superstar Lionel Messi has signed on as the new face of the platform.

Chiliz grabbed the attention of the crypto world when its native token CHZ grew 7,000 percent in three months amid major sports partnerships. The token also pumped after a partnership with FTX was announced in September 2021.

CC2 to Run on Brand-New Blockchain BNB

The firm has bigger ambitions beyond fan tokens, which is the reason it is developing a second-generation blockchain to allow other sports and entertainment brands to build all sorts of Web3 applications alongside Socios. A rollout for a planned mainnet is scheduled for later in 2022. With CC2, the firm will shift away from its current blockchain that is forked from Ethereum to a brand-new one built on the BNB Chain.

According to chief strategy officer Max Rabinovitch, it has always been Chiliz’s plan to expand from its initial fan token focus into the wider crypto ecosystem – to let IP holders and other builders tap into a broader platform powered by the CHZ token. The broader fan token ecosystem generates billions in monthly trading volume, with the largest listed fan token, Socios’s Manchester City FC (CITY) token having a market cap of over US$58 million.

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Crypto News Fantasy Sports NFTs Sorare Sports

Blockchain Fantasy Football Game ‘Sorare’ Signs Deal with USA Major League Soccer

Sorare has signed yet another football league to its non-fungible token (NFT) fantasy football game. US Major League Soccer (MLS) is the first American league to join the platform for digital football collectibles.

Football leagues across the globe are jumping on the NFT train by enabling a new level of participation and interaction with fans, with the novel technology gaining a lot of traction among sports fans and clubs.

As outlined in an MLS post, Sorare will become the league’s official fantasy football NFT game, adding new players to the fantasy league roster:

MLS Has Youth on its Side

According to Chris Schlosser, MLS senior vice-president of enterprise ventures, “I think [digital] collectibles on their own are a really exciting opportunity, but generally, we’re starting to see more and more in this NFT-as-utility space where people want to use their NFTs to do things, and that’s what Sorare figured out early on.”

MLS is one of the fastest-growing football leagues in the US and has one of the youngest fan bases (average 39.6 years) of any major sports league in the US. According to an article by Forbes, millennials and gen-Zers account for 58 percent of MLS supporters, making NFTs a smart move to get in with the tech-savvy crowd.

US League Joins European Heavyweights

MLS will be joining more than 230 global football leagues, including European heavyweights Bundesliga, Laliga, and Bayern Munich. The platforms’ 350k monthly users across 184 countries will now be able to also collect and use NFTs from the MLS league.

Sorare is a fantasy football game built on the Ethereum (ETH) blockchain. The platform opens doors for users to buy, sell and trade NFTs of their favourite players to build their fantasy team. Scores are tracked based on real-life performances, and players win prizes based on their rank in the league.

The platform’s last funding round in late September 2021 saw it raise US$680 million, boosting its total valuation to US$4.3 billion.

We’re excited to continue our progressive approach to bring NFTs to MLS with industry-leader Sorare. Utilizing the latest technology to provide fans the opportunity to add MLS players and future stars to their personal collections and give them an interactive free-to-play fantasy soccer game made Sorare the obvious choice.

Chris Schlosser, SVP of emerging ventures, Major League Soccer