DraftKings Wednesday revealed its plan to launch DraftKings Marketplace, a marketplace for a type of digital collectible called non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
“The NFT boom has reinvented the collectibles industry and driven excitement to early-adopting audiences worldwide—including the DraftKings community,” said Matt Kalish, DraftKings co-founder and president.
NFTs’ popularity exploded in 2020, tripling sales of the collectible that uses the blockchain as proof of ownership for digital assets ranging from artwork to videos to collectible sports cards. As most people know who have downloaded a picture online, digital assets can be copied an unlimited number of times. However, with NFTs, the information of the true owner is stored on the blockchain.
For the most part, NFTs have remained for the tech savvy and some buyers have even found themselves over their head with a missing asset after purchase.
Technical details were slim in DraftKings’ announcement, but the company claims its adding “mainstream accessibility” to NFTs and partnered with Autograph to become the exclusive distributor of its wide range of licensed digital collectibles from athletes, television shows, and more.
“DraftKings Marketplace will sit at the center of this technological and cultural phenomenon, providing our immense existing customer base with an easily accessible experience that rivals all legacy marketplaces. This initial vision in collaboration with Autograph, and its coveted collection of official digital collectibles, is a vital first step as we enter the emergent NFT market. We aim to usher in this new era by introducing millions of collectors to this evolving space while providing beloved content through an intuitive interface built to win over the long term,” added Matt Kalish, DraftKings co-founder and president.
Despite using the blockchain as a ledger, payments for NFTs are agnostic and DraftKings is accepting good ‘ol USD for ownership.
“As the world becomes more comfortable with digital ownership and collection, we see an incredible opportunity to bring users high-quality and personalized content from their favorite athletes, artists and franchises,” said Dillon Rosenblatt, Founder and CEO, Autograph. “NFTs are the perfect medium to connect users to both the things they love and those who share those interests, and we want to leverage today’s incredible partnerships to provide continued value to our community.”
DraftKings Marketplace is listed as “coming soon” on its website.
