🔊 Adidas Believes In NFTs

Welcome to The Hype Report where we deliver the latest news, stories, and insights at the intersection of sports, artificial intelligence, and web3.

Here's What You Need To Know This Week 📝

• Adidas Dives Deeper Into Metaverse With ALTS NFTs

• Former AWS & DraftKing Executive Jumps Into Web3 Horse Racing Startup

• Web3 Platform HEIR Launches Mobile App

• Quick Hype & What To Watch

Let's Dive Into It 🤿

Adidas Dives Deeper Into Metaverse With ALTS NFTs 👟

There are a few guarantees in life...

Death...taxes... and Adidas launching more NFTs.

With the release of the ALTS by Adidas NFT collection, Adidas is expanding on its Into The Metaverse ecosystem.

They first released the collection in December 2021, promising NFTs holders "exclusive access to collaborative merchandise and virtual land experiences throughout 2022."

This was in collaboration with NFT influencer gmoney, PUNKS Comic, and Bored Ape Yacht Club, and allowed holders to burn their NFTs to receive a new token from the next phase of the project and claim physical clothing items.

Burning an NFT is equal to destroying it and involves sending a token to an un-spendable address that no one has access to.

NFT owners of the first two phases are requested to burn the old ones and mint this new NFT Phase, which is supposedly the final phase.

They will receive a new NFT from the ALTS by Adidas collection, and will only have to pay for gas fees.

The new stage in Adidas' Web3 journey involves a dynamic NFT with eight different "ALT[er] egos" that correspond to different rarity traits and interactive storylines.

The new collection will offer various utilities for holders, including:

• a stake in the ALTS by the Adidas ecosystem

• some commercial intellectual property (IP) rights to their character

• access to exclusive virtual wearables

• entry to holder-only community gatherings and token-gated Discord channels

At the time of writing, the Into the Metaverse collection has a floor price of 0.57 ETH (about $1,000) and has done 48,771 ETH (about $93.4 million) in trading volume since its launch.

The ALTS by Adidas collection has a floor price of 0.59 ETH (about $1,100) and has done 320 ETH (about $613,000) in trading volume so far.

It's evident that Adidas is bullish as ever on web3 as they continue to drop NFT collections aside from other projects such as digital apparel collections and a virtual styling tool for existing profile picture (PFP) NFTs.

Former AWS & DraftKing Executive Jumps Into Web3 Horse Racing Startup 🐎

Despite the bear market and skepticism - there are still believers.

A former DraftKings and AWS executive recently made the jump over to the blockchain gaming space.

Srini Vasan has joined Game of Silks as its CTO.

His goal is to help the blockchain game build its backend tech stack to enable a “frictionless” in-game experience for metaverse users.

Vasan was an enterprise architect at AWS from 2019 to 2021 before joining the sports betting giant DraftKings as a vice president of engineering where he built out their NFT marketplace.

Vasan says that Game of Silks touches on several areas which may shape the future of blockchain gaming such as the replication of real-world sports and sports betting, as well as new revenue-sharing models between professional athletes (or, in this case, race horses).

Digital horse racing has been around for a little while, as the startup behind Zed Run, which allows users to virtually breed, sell and buy horses, raised $20 million in Series A funding in 2021.

Game of Silks, on the other hand, replicates and tokenizes each year’s crop of professional racehorses as they are registered.

Owners of these NFTs called Silks Horses, are rewarded as their real-life counterparts win races and breed offspring.

This major hire comes after Game of Silks partnered with the New York Racing Association, which generated $2.3 billion in wagering last year.

This signifies a bright future for the blockchain-based horse racing game.

Web3 Platform HEIR Launches Mobile App📱

HEIR is kicking up into high gear.

This past week they launched a mobile app to help connect Gen Z fans to their favorite athletes.

Founded in December 2021 by Jeffrey Michael Jordan, Jeron Smith, and Daniel George, HEIR raised $10 million from a variety of investors, including:

• Thrive Capital

• Solana Ventures

• Reddit Co-founder and investor Alexis Ohanian

• New York Knicks EVP William Wesley

• Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball

It was originally launched as a web3 personalized community platform for athletes.

Now, the brand positions itself as a:

“next-generation holding company that builds culturally-inspired consumer brands rooted in sports, tech, and entertainment."

The app offers fans the ability:

• to communicate with partner athletes

• watch exclusive content

• easily find player-focused highlights and statistics

Eventually, users will be able to tap into exclusive content from athletes by either purchasing them through “microtransactions or a membership model."

The app is initially launching with seven HEIR Signature Athletes, including:

• Minnesota Timberwolves guard Anthony Edwards

• Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro

• New York Knicks forward RJ Barrett

• Indiana Pacers guard Bennedict Mathurin

• Chicago Bulls guard Lonzo Ball

• Phoenix Suns forward Josh Okogie

• Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

More athletes will be announced in the coming months.

The app is also updated in real-time with new stats as athletes perform in their respective sports.

It's officially available on iOS and all Apple devices.

Quick Hype 🎯

Lockerverse Equips Diverse Creators And Athletes To Build Wealth By Selling Assets On The Blockchain. Three founders combined their backgrounds to launch an innovative technology platform that’s attracting the likes of Savanah and Bronny James.

How Artificial Intelligence is Revolutionizing Sports Betting. (AI) is revolutionizing the sports betting industry. It is being used to analyze data faster than before, resulting in more accurate predictions of outcomes and better betting decision-making.

Technology will bridge the gap between sports and sports fans: Q&A with Dream11 Sports CTO Amit Sharma.

Peacock on Meta Quest: You can now watch movies, TV shows, and sports from Peacock in virtual reality on Meta Quest 2 and Meta Quest Pro.

80% of Web3 Players Will Come From Asia, According to Report. The study found that Asia already accounts for 55% of the world’s gaming population with 1.7 billion gamers, and will likely account for 80% of all Web3 gamers.

What To Watch 👀Yang Adija is SVP of Digital League Business Operations, Growth & Innovation for Warner Brothers Discovery Sports.

He is responsible for managing the overall business operations and daily execution of strategic and tactical initiatives for digital league partnerships with the NBA and NCAA.

He's also leading the development and launch of Blocklete Games, an original IP franchise built on the blockchain, and the organization’s industry-leading NFT efforts.

Previously, he was VP of Business Operations and Strategy for Turner NBA Digital.

In this conversation, with cryptonews.com he talks about:

• Identifying trends before they become mainstream

• Watch-To-Earn online experiences for fans (Using web3 tech that feels like web3)

• Climbing the ranks at publicly traded companies

Full interview below:

If you have 50 seconds - I'd really appreciate it if you could fill out this brief anonymous survey:

Talk to you again next week,

Malcolm

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not financial or business advice in any capacity. The information shared is my thoughts & opinions and does not represent the opinions of any other person, business, entity, or sponsor.

The contents of this newsletter also should not be used in any public or private domain without the author's express permission. The contents of this newsletter should not be used for any commercial activity, for example, research report, consultancy activity, or paywalled article, without the author's express permission.