Indian non-fungible token (NFT) startup FanCraze has partnered with the International Cricket Council (ICC) to launch ‘Crictos’, video highlights of cricket games as NFTs. The project is now live on the Flow blockchain and will mint archived moments from over 50 years of history.
Cricket is not the most popular sport in the West but globally ranks second only to soccer. That’s largely because it’s the number one sport in hugely populous India with significant fan bases in England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
For example, the 2019 ICC World Cup TV coverage reached a global cumulative average audience of 1.6 billion viewers.
As in other parts of the world, the interest in NFTs is growing in India, the rest of South Asia and Australia. The popularity of NBA Top Shot, Sorare, and other emerging and successful NFT initiatives in other regions highlight the potential of Cricket-based digital assets.
The initiative is similar to Dapper Labs’ products like NBA Top Shot. FanCraze is minting past and present highlights of games and selling them in packs of NFTs varying in price from $9 to potentially $199, and eventually higher. There are four tiers of scarcity and fans will only know the scarcity of each NFT once they open the pack. These can be traded in a secondary marketplace and potentially enable exclusive experiences such as attendance at games and meeting players.
Dapper Labs is one of the backers of Faze Technology, the company behind FanCraze. Dapper’s purpose as a company is centered around getting crypto into the hands of as many people as possible, and sports are an effective way to reach a wide audience.
The laws around crypto in India are currently in flux, with a new crypto regulation in the works. Originally it was thought cryptocurrency would be banned, but instead, now some expect the sector to be regulated. However, draft regulations have not yet been published.
The FanCraze offering aims to be affordable and accessible to the cricket audience. Besides the low-priced pack options, consumers will also be able to use credit cards and common paying methods for purchase. FanCraze is also developing cricket-based games where the NFTs can be used in gameplay to earn points, Karma points, which alongside NFTs can be sold to other players.
While FanCraze has managed a deal with the international governing body of cricket, NFT platform Rario has already launched NFTs with some regional cricket leagues, including Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. Outside of NFTs, Socios has a partnership with three cricket clubs for fan tokens.
Meanwhile, Dapper Labs has expanded NBA Top Shot to the WNBA. SportsIcon launched documentary-like NFTs, and GreenPark raised $31 million to develop social gaming with NFTs for LaLiga and the NBA.
