Using Blockchain to Combat Counterfeiting and NFTs to Transform Events
Plus, the rise of generative technologies, onboarding new users through sports partnerships and social media integrations, and much more.
Welcome to Sportsblock… A newsletter covering interesting content at the intersection of sport x web3.
3 big ideas
3 sport updates
3 brand updates
Without further ado, LFG!
Not yet a subscriber? Sign up to get a monthly debrief on everything sport x web3, or don’t. Up to you.
3 BIG IDEAS
The Rise of Generative Technologies
Generative Tech is personalization in a way we have never experienced it before, writes James Currier.
“For 20 years, we have been chasing personalization through curation. E-commerce providers, Netflix and Spotify all want to serve you curated products you’re most likely to like from their central databases. FB, TikTok and The New York Times have experimented with curating your experience of their content.
This is a very limited approach to personalization because it is based on calling existing data. We have been trying to retrofit people’s preferences into our existing offerings, rather than generating new things that are best suited to them.
"Generative Tech replaces curation with creation… [It] skillfully creates novel output.”
Transforming Music Events with NFTs
Live shows have limited capacities, which make them inherently exclusive, explains Rikin Mantri, co-founder and co-CEO of Curio.
“NFTs can offer another layer of VIP benefits and digital experiences to live events. They can provide entry to real-world VIP rooms, reserved seats, even limited one-on-ones and photo opportunities with performers. Because they are limited, trackable and transferable, they can’t be counterfeited or scalped, and provide additional revenue to the artist, venue, label and management whenever they are resold and transferred.
NFTs can also include functionality to unlock digital content such as augmented reality overlays to concert performances. They can offer the opportunity to buy limited-edition merchandise at shows, or receive other perks and discounts. They can also be sold or given as premiums to attendees of live performances to serve as digital keepsakes of once-in-a-lifetime experiences.”
Using Blockchain to Combat Counterfeiting
Brands are looking to blockchain and NFTs to battle counterfeits, according to a report from Perkins Coie trio, Colleen Ganin, Mira Park, and Grace Stanton.
“A blockchain—a digital ledger that securely records and tracks information, and which cannot be modified—is a promising tool for battling counterfeits.
For example, NFTs—one-of-a-kind blockchain-based assets—can be tethered to physical products, such that they can be used to differentiate authentic products from counterfeits. A major player in this space is Arianee, which says it provides “NFT digital passports for luxury goods” that show digitized service history and repair information.
Digital passports may help to combat counterfeits in the resale market, which in turn may help to prevent brand dilution and increase consumer trust.”
3 SPORT UPDATES
FIFA x Roblox
FIFA and Roblox have announced a new ground-breaking partnership that will offer the Roblox community, as well football fans around the world, free-to-play access to FIFA World - a virtual environment that celebrates the power of football and the rich history of its pinnacle events.
Crypto.com pass 70m users
Formula 1 and LA Lakers sponsors (among others), Crypto.com have announced they recently passed 70 million users showing the power of sports to bring in audiences.
“Our sports marketing partnerships have been central to putting Crypto.com on the map and helping drive our exponential growth over the past two years,” said Steve Kalifowitz, Crypto.com CMO. “These efforts will continue to be a focal point of our marketing strategy moving forward.”
Premier League x Sorare
Last year, the Premier League agreed to a $459 million NFT deal with ConsenSys. However, as crypto prices tumbled, ConsenSys reportedly attempted to change the terms of the deal. This has lead to the EPL ditching them for blockchain company Sorare, who already have deals with LaLiga, Bundesliga, and even the English Football League.
3 BRAND UPDATES
Reddit Onboarding the Masses
Reddit users have created more than 3 million Reddit Vault wallets to buy and trade the social media platform’s NFT avatars since the series launched in July. Pet Berisha, author of Sporting Crypto believes it is the most successful mass-market NFT proposition since Top Shot. The sports industry could learn a lot from what they’ve done.
Netflix x Discord
Discord users can now stream movies directly on the platform via a new bot, launched by entertainment service Netflix in a move that may well end up benefiting both parties. The move allows Netflix to lean into shared viewing experiences and live chat via the app.
Zoe Scaman, founder of Strategy Studio Bodacious, believes “building social experiences around entertainment content is an area set to explode.”
RTFKT x RIMOWA
Merging the worlds of physical and digital craftsmanship, RIMOWA and RTFKT have come together in a new collaboration which features 888 NFTs to be forged into 888 limited-edition physical suitcases.
Benoit Pagotto, Co-Founder of RTFKT says the partnership will “set a benchmark for next-gen interactive story-telling and minting experience in web3.”
Not yet a subscriber? Sign up to get a monthly debrief on everything sport x web3, or don’t. Up to you.