Sports and the Web3 Era

Crypto. Blockchain. NFTs. OH MY!

Never fear, I am here to share a bit of information on these three areas in the context of sports.

I recently went through the Front Office Sports Crypto in Sports Essentials course powered by Coinbase. Not only were the modules easy to understand, but they were informative as well.

Did you know that the Chicago Bulls recently dropped NFTs based around their championship runs in the 90s?

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐍𝐅𝐓?

Basically it is a digital asset that you own and can trade or sell with other people. However, you actually own the asset much like if you went into the a store and purchased a piece of art. It is another form of currency, but is similar to buying a piece of unique art. There might only be one NFT made by the artist or there might be 10,000 pieces like some NBA Top Shot moments. It has the value of whatever the market can bear. There might also be real life events attached to these NFTs as well, like meet and greets with players.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐲𝐩𝐭𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲?

Remember when the US Dollar was backed by gold? Ya, that's not the case anymore. However, the USD is still fairly valuable in the marketplace despite that. Cryptocurrency also isn't backed by gold and is passed back and forth through a series of transactions. One dollar = one dollar. Just like one bitcoin = one bitcoin. The value of the cryptocurrency is ever changing just like the USD. It is allegedly impossible to counterfeit a piece of cryptocurrency because it is recorded on the blockchain through a series of transactions. If you need a primer on this then head to Netflix and watch The Startup.

In sports, players like Jewell Loyd of the Seattle Storm are leading the way in this space. She started investing in crypto back in 2013. Her view is that it is another way to hold currency and she sees it as an investment which in turn allows her to have freedom. She says WNBA players are so adaptable that crypto makes sense as an investment. It can be a short-term investment or a long-term investment depending on what you need at the time.

Lastly, 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐧?

Essentially, this is a way for individuals to buy and sell NFTs and cryptocurrency through a series of transactions that are recorded in a digital ledger. The blockchain is made up of a series of different computers called nodes. These transactions are usually initiated and completed through a series of smart contracts.

There is so much to learn about this Web3 world (aka the third generation of the internet), but learning bit by bit is helpful and the basics are key.

What questions do you have about this new world?