Every team has a coin? How NBA explores cryptocurrency and blockchain applications

Perhaps many people have not thought that cryptocurrency and blockchain technology are quietly entering one of the world's largest sports professional leagues: the NBA.

Last week, the Dallas Lone Ranger became the second team in the NBA to accept bitcoin to pay for tickets and merchandise payments. In November last year, Dallas Lone Ranger owner Mark Cuban announced that it had reached a cooperation with Lithuanian blockchain sports company Lympo. The two sides also launched the first blockchain product in the fitness field in the United States.

Interestingly, the first NBA team to accept bitcoin payments is not a giant team – but the Sacramento Kings. They launched a service that supports cryptocurrency purchase tickets in 2014, knowing the 1BTC at the time. The price is only $850, but the current price has exceeded $10,000. Last summer, the Sacramento Kings also announced that they would mine in Ethereum in their arena, and the proceeds would be donated to local foundations in the Sacramento area. Not only that, but the NBA League has also announced that it will launch blockchain souvenirs for fans in the future.

With the continuous development and expansion of the blockchain and cryptocurrency industries, how will the NBA use this emerging technology in the future?

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Although it is unclear whether the team and the entire NBA will continue to use cryptocurrency and blockchain technology, and how to use this technology. But what is certain is that the NBA team is very interested in cryptocurrency and blockchain, and is optimistic. I believe that as technology continues to be completed, there will be more and more teams using cryptocurrency and blockchain technology.

But when it comes to this, we may have come up with a question in our minds: Will the NBA team make their own money?

In fact, it is not a fantasy for NBA teams to introduce cryptocurrencies because there are many points of contact between fans and teams, such as ticketing, food and beverages, merchandise, etc. If you use a form of payment that is directly related to the team – For example, the cryptocurrency issued by the team itself may also be a way to increase the affinity of the fans.

On the other hand, cryptocurrencies can create a unique “small micro-economy” ecosystem both inside and outside the stadium, just like creating a typical cryptocurrency mechanism for token sales. For example, fans can win tokens from a variety of gifts, such as "LakerBucks" or "ClipperCoin", but also (at least in the "small circle" of the NBA) These tokens. Not only that, through the underlying blockchain technology, the team can better understand how fans interact with their products through cryptocurrencies, and then provide targeted services to fans.

In addition to the simple economic benefits of buying tickets, merchandise and other supplies, the NBA team has a very attractive use case – match betting. Based on how cryptocurrencies work, teams can create a gaming experience that can be used if fans want to bet on the game. However, if the cryptocurrency issued by the team extends to the entire gambling company, then price volatility may have some negative effects. Considering that NBA games and commerce are heavily promoted to the family, this is indeed a legitimate concern for the league.

However, the NBA is also trying to find a balance between risk and return. Take the Sacramento Kings as an example. They will provide free "predictive games" on the court. Players who participate will receive free "points". Using these "points" will generate lottery tickets to win signature items and other. prize. We've found that all of these unique and innovative experiments are actually done in a very interesting and fan-friendly way, so an NBA that can easily use cryptocurrencies is not out of reach.

In addition to these possibilities, blockchain technology offers a wider range of opportunities for the NBA and its players – such as blockchain collections.

In fact, if the players perform better on the court, the value of their corresponding digital collections will be higher, and the NBA has begun to consider increasing investment in this area. It is reported that the NBA is expected to launch the first blockchain collection platform NBA Top Shot, which was launched in early 2020. Combining many aspects of fantasy sports and traditional player card trading, blockchain technology can effectively promote fan interaction and even record game data. Imagine that the NBA digital collection built on the blockchain can only be obtained by participating in the game, which will definitely attract a large number of team fans to download and join the game.

So far, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology have not been used in NBA teams – there are 30 teams in the league, and only the Dallas Lone Ranger and the Sacramento Kings dare to try.

Of course, encryption technology itself is still at a relatively early stage, so it will be interesting to see which NBA teams will have a deeper understanding of the potential of the blockchain technology and increase investment in new technology applications. Soon after, various cryptocurrencies and their underlying blockchain technologies will be ubiquitous throughout the NBA, even bringing disruptive changes to the entire basketball industry and fan experience.

This article from Forbes, the original author: Joe Barnathan

Odaily Planet Daily Translator | Moni

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