Blockchain, crypto that will take the sports industry beyond NFT collectibles

Bitcoin (BTC) has been attributed as the most prominent blockchain use case, demonstrating the technology’s prowess in successfully delivering an immutable and truly decentralized ledger over the past 13 years. In addition to years of innovations since then – with the introduction of altcoins, non-fungible tokens (NFT), decentralized finance (DeFi) and more, a study conducted by fintech giant Deloitte highlighted the untapped potential of the crypto ecosystem to open up. newer markets for the sports industry.

Fantokens and NFTs were first introduced to the sports industry to increase fan engagement through collectibles and voting mechanisms. However, Deloitte, one of the Big 4 accounting firms, foresees that the industry will further embrace crypto and blockchain technology in the coming years:

“There will be a nexus around sports collectibles, ticket sales, betting and gaming. We’re just starting to see it [cryptocurrency’s] potential, as well as the new markets it could lead to.”

Highlighting emerging trends in the sports industry, Deloitte’s 2022 sports industry outlook report forecasts an eventual surge in blockchain-enabled innovations, as a result of which “the use of NFTs, crypto, fantokens and ticket innovations will grow and evolve.”

“Going beyond NFTs,” Deloitte expects the sports industry to soon link spectators to season tickets via the blockchain. While the first step toward this goal would mean linking game tickets to NFTs only as a means of rewarding fans, innovations around smart contracts could potentially open up new use cases:

“We could see fractional ownership of season tickets and suites and a reinvention of the ticket resale process.”

As a result, new revenue streams can be created for sports organizers and teams as smart contracts streamline processes related to dynamic ticket pricing and resale. However, Deloitte shared four key factors that need to be addressed by the ecosystem: implementing new standards, educating fans, and considering compliance and tax implications.

In addition, Deloitte’s research revealed that NFTs have catalyzed the merger between the physical and virtual worlds in sports, with more than $2 billion worth of sports-related NFT transactions forecasted in 2022 alone.

Finally, the sports organizations recommended by finserv are monitoring the NFT boom and its impact on other segments, such as gaming.

Related: Aussie Media Company Goes All In On NBA Fan Engagement With NFTs

In support of Deloitte’s report on the rising NFT trend in the sports industry, Australian media company Basketball Forever recently launched Hoop Hounds, an NFT project aimed at increasing National Basketball Association (NBA) fan engagement and providing substantial practical usability for the tokens.

Basketball Forever founder Alex Sumsky resonated with Deloitte’s findings when he told Cointelegraph that the technology is more than just a token linked to a JPG and empowers organizations to provide innovative ways to increase user engagement and enhance the user experience. really benefit fans.

As part of the initiative, Basketball Forever will feature 8,888 different “dogs” — various basketball and NBA personalities depicted as animated canines — each with unique traits and varying levels of rarity.