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  • 🔊 SuperBowl MVP Is Launching A Digital Collectibles Platform

🔊 SuperBowl MVP Is Launching A Digital Collectibles Platform

Plus: Futureverse Raises $54 Million & Binance Ends Partnership With Argentina Football Association

July 23, 2023

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

Here's What You Need To Know This Week 📝

  • Patrick Mahomes Is Launching His Own NFT Platform 🏈

  • Futureverse Raises $54 Million In Latest Round 🤯 

  • Binance Ends Partnership With Argentina Football Association ⚽

  • Quick Hype 🎯

Let's Dive Into It 🤿

Patrick Mahomes Is Launching His Own NFT Platform 🏈

Kansas City Chiefs QB and two-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes isn’t a stranger to the Web3 space.

In 2021, he dropped his first NFT collection with Makersplace.

In 2022, he signed a deal with Dapper Labs.

Now he’s diving back in with his own “Museum of Mahomes” NFT platform, extending from the earlier drop with Makersplace.

Museum of Mahomes, which is set to debut its first collectibles in September, will deliver digital collectibles some of which will be tied to real-world benefits such as:

  • Game-worn items

  • Physical trading cards

  • Autographed jerseys

  • Custom footballs

The “Museum of Mahomes” collection will feature 15,000 NFTs, according to a representative, with artwork inspired by the entirety of his NFL career to date.

They have yet to reveal which network it will mint NFTs on, let alone the price for them.

When Mahomes first dropped his own NFTs in March 2021, he generated $3.7 million worth of sales during the height of the NFT boom.

Owners of those original NFTs will be able to claim physical versions of their collectibles, which will be signed by the man himself.

His previous 2021 drop also used the “Museum of Mahomes” branding, but with this new version of the initiative, he’s launching his own dedicated platform.

The project is led by the digital agency D-O-M, which was also involved in the earlier drop.

A portion of proceeds from NFT sales will go to Mahomes’ 15 and the Mahomies Foundation to benefit children in underserved communities through various initiatives.

Even though they’ve had their troubles in recent months, as of now Mahomes is still the face of Dapper Labs’ NFL All Day, serving as an official spokesperson for the platform.

Why Does This Matter?

I’ve always thought digital collectibles can be a great brand-building tool for athletes when leveraged the right way.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen many athletes get into the NFT space, but ultimately fail to sustain for several reasons such as:

  • No road map & short-term thinking

  • Looking at it as a quick money grab

  • No real value or utility for holders

I believe Patrick Mahomes has a great opportunity to build a strong use case and if he executes the right way, especially with his own platform, it can give way to other athletes doing the same.

I’ll say it time and time again, at the end of the day, any NFT project or collection is all about the value that the fan or end-user receives.

Futureverse Raises $54 Million In Latest Round 🤯 

Last week we talked about Futureverse launching its AI-powered “smart” soccer game on iOS in partnership with the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 tournament.

This week the company raised $54 million in a new round of funding to marry AI and the metaverse.

The round was led by 10T Holdings ("10T") as well as Ripple Ventures.

Futureverse will use the capital from the round to continue developing the company's extensive technology.

This includes:

  • Futureverse Platform featuring "Powered By Futureverse" tools and products

  • The Root Network, a blockchain, and suite of protocols with ready-made runtimes for building next-generation metaverse apps, games, and experiences

"The metaverse has the potential to transform the way humans engage and collaborate with one another and improve our experiences across a number of different spheres, including gaming, payments, asset management, and more. In order to reach this potential, the metaverse requires open, scalable, and interoperable infrastructure.

Futureverse combines next-level technological infrastructure and AI-driven content to create the open metaverse we all envision. With the help of our tremendous partners 10T and Ripple, we are excited to take the metaverse from an abstract idea to a tangible, accessible, and interactive destination."

Aaron McDonald and Shara Senderoff, Co-Founders of Futureverse

In April, the company announced a strategic partnership with the NFT collection Cool Cats.

They integrated the Cool Cats brand with their cutting-edge technology and brought Cool Cats NFT holders into the Futureverse ecosystem.

In the past year, Futureverse has formed global strategic partnerships with renowned organizations including:

  • FIFA

  • Authentic Brands Group

  • Mastercard

  • Wimbledon

  • Death Row Records

  • Wētā Workshop

  • Snoop Dogg

  • Timbaland

  • Keanu Reeves

  • Alexandra Grant

Why Does This Matter?

There is a strong negative sentiment surrounding the space at the moment, and with good reason.

Regulatory crackdowns.

Market downturn.

Failed projects and companies.

With all of this looming, funding in the Web3 space has naturally taken a huge hit:

Web3 Funding Plummets As AI Steals The Show

While most sectors are seeing a slowdown in venture capital, Web3 has been hit hardest.

news.crunchbase.com/web3/crypto-blockchain-startup-vc-funding-falling-data/?utm_source=cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230718&utm_content=intro&utm_term=content&utm_source=cb_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20230703

Only time will tell how it all shakes out, but this is a sign there are still believers in some capacity.

We have to continue looking at this as a long-term game and discover ways to solve real-life problems for businesses and consumers with this technology.

Binance Ends Partnership With Argentine Football Association ⚽

This week, Binance officially terminated its five-year partnership with the Argentine Football Association (AFA) citing a breach of contract.

This comes less than a year after the agreement was signed.

In January 2022, Binance became the main sponsor of Argentina’s powerhouse national soccer team and the naming sponsor of its national soccer league in a five-year deal.

“The AFA has not fully complied with its contractual obligations, which is contrary to our business values and partnership principles.”

Representative from Binance

Though deal came with controversy from the jump.

The AFA terminated a contract with the fan token site Socios to sign this agreement with Binance.

Afterward, Socios sued the AFA, although the company remains the exclusive provider of AFA's official fan token, $ARG, until 2026.

Because of the bear market and regulatory crackdowns, the crypto markets and many of the top exchanges have taken blows subsequently.

Recently, Wall Street Journal revealed news that Binance has stopped offering certain benefits to its employees due to declining profits for the company.

The report also came after Binance slashed more than 1,000 workers from the company.

It was also said there’s a potential for more than a third of the company’s previous 8,000 employees to be cut eventually.

Separately, the AFA also has a previously signed a deal with cryptocurrency exchange Bybit.

The exchange serves as the global main sponsor for all soccer selections, whereas its logo is displayed on the training apparel of Lionel Messi and his teammates.

Bybit and the AFA originally announced their collaboration in November 2021, revealing that it will last 24 months.

It’s also worth noting, that over the past few years, Messi has collaborated with a few different Web3 & cryptocurrency brands including:

  • Bitget

  • Socios

  • Sorare

The recently signed Inter Miami soccer star is among the most influential athletes in the world having nearly 480 million followers on Instagram.

Why Does This Matter?

Binance, which is the world’s top crypto exchange, isn’t looking like it right now from an outsider's viewpoint.

Between the layoffs, legal battles, and failed partnerships - who knows if they’ll even be around a year or two from now.

But specifically when it comes to sports, this is something to keep your eye on.

As these issues continue to materialize, it’ll be interesting to see how many of these other deals collapse.

Here are a few other agreements currently in place between sports leagues/teams and crypto exchanges:

  • National Basketball Association (NBA) with Coinbase

  • Los Angeles Lakers with Crypto.com

  • London Lions with BitPay

  • Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) with Crypto.com

  • Formula One World Championship (F1) with Crypto.com

  • Williams Racing with Kraken

  • McLaren Racing with OKX & Tezos

  • Alpine Racing with Binance

  • Redbull Racing with Bybit

  • Aston Martin Racing with Crypto.com & Socios

  • Alfa Romero with Socios, Everdome & CryptoDATA

  • Drone Racing League (DRL) with Algorand

  • Italy’s Serie A Club with Binance

  • German soccer club Borussia Dortmund with Coinbase

  • Manchester City with OKX

  • Italian soccer club S.S.C with Upbit

  • Italian soccer club AC Milan with BitMEX

Please let me know if I’ve missed any other notable ones that come to mind!

Quick Hype 🎯

Reality+ and OTZ Sports will Launch Web3 FIFA Women’s World Cup Soccer Game.

GameOn Partners With Professional Fighters League (PFL) to Launch Next-Gen Fantasy Games.

NBA, Apple Have a ‘Vision’ For How to Watch Games in the Future.

Fake Contracts and 40% Fees: College Athletes Get Scammed on NIL Deals.

Puma, Legitimate, Roc Nation Unveil NFT-Infused 'Evolution of the Mixtape' Sneaker Collection.

Thank you for reading.

Talk to you again next Sunday.

Malcolm

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