In India, the trading of fast-growing digital assets is yet to make inroads, despite the fact that NFTs took off in many corners of the world last year. A local startup backed by high-profile investors believes it has cracked the code to win customers in the world's second largest internet market.
FanCraze launched its digital assets that capture moments of a game that is very familiar to 1.3 billion people and often a crucial part of their lives.
Cricket is one of the most popular sports in several parts of the world. Its fan following eclipses is similar to those of several other popular sports.
Hotstar, an on-demand streaming service that has won over 300 million users thanks largely to its large catalog of cricket streaming rights, is facing stiff competition from global giants such as Prime Video.
Hotstar, which became part of Disney after the $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, is now a key player in the American conglomerate's world expansion plans. FanCraze is trying to cash in on the game's popularity.
Some of the game's most famous moments include India winning the World Cup with a six at the Wankhede stadium, and Yuvraj Singh fumbling against Australia.
FanCraze has an exclusive, multi-year partnership with the International Cricket Council, the global governing body for the game of cricket. Anshum Bhambri, the founder and chief executive of FanCraze, said in an interview that the startup has partnerships with several cricket players.
I have been a big cricket fan my entire life. I have found solace in the middle of sleepless nights when I watch the same videos again and again. He said that those moments are valuable to billions of people across the world.
The archive of video footage and still images from 50 years ago has been given to us by theICC. In big fat legal contracts, that archive and the rights to them were always there. NFTs have made those intellectual property liquid and tradeable by making them into small parts, which are verifiably ownable and provably scarce due to the use of theBlockchain technology.
The idea that fans are building a more direct relationship with creators and athletes is at the heart of FanCraze and similar NFT startup such as NBA Top Shot and SoRare.
NBA Top Shot, a licensed NBA product, processes tens of millions of dollars in sales each month. Proponents of NFTs say they are the future of collecting assets and have made several millionaires in fans.
The business models of scores of large firms across the globe are in stark contrast to the web3 idea of flipping the model on who derives most value in a transaction. The platforms such as Hotstar that make more money than the cricket boards in the Indian premier league cricket tournament season.
Bhambri was asked if he plans to expand FanCraze to more categories and businesses. He said cricket NFTs will be its main offering for a few years and that the startup may expand to other sports.
FanCraze is making the purchase of digital assets very simple in order to make NFTs more accessible to the average person. Typically, when an individual is looking to purchase an NFT or a different asset, they have to identify theBlockchain it is trading on and understand how to operate the right wallet and then buy the native token they need to make the purchase and pay the transaction fee.
FanCraze allows users to purchase the NFT with multiple payment options, including plastic cards, wallet and UPI in India. Users from outside of India can purchase the NFTs. A ledger record of the purchase is made on the Flow blockchain.
The startup launched three different packs of NFTs. FanCraze will launch a marketplace later this week where users will be able to trade NFTs. Bhambri said that FanCraze is developing cricket-based games where the NFTs will be used to earn in-game karma points and increase the utility of the NFTs.
There are karma points that can be used to upgrade or craft the NFTs. The user's winning chances are improved by upgraded NFTs. He said that users can choose to sell the NFTs and karma points to other users.
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