A now-viral post by a Chinese cryptocurrency trader has highlighted the stark drop in the price of American sneaker-backed tokens in the wake of the fallout between the NBA and China. As Reuters reports on Oct. 16, the anonymous trader’s Weibo post from earlier this month had shone a spotlight on an apparent 10% crash in the price of crypto tokens backed by Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers on a United States-based exchange. “It’s clear sneaker speculators were pulling money out of the market,” the trader told Reuters. He interpreted the market response in the context of Chinese netizens’ anger over …

Germany’s FC Bayern Munich has become the latest football club to announce blockchain-based merchandise for fans. As reported Oct. 11, the club will partner with Stryking Entertainment to produce digital collectibles of its players. Play FC Bayern Munich past vs. present The collectibles will take the form of digital player cards with the likenesses of FC Bayern Munich players, past and present. Stryking is also creating a fantasy-league style challenge for the cards, offering a gameplay aspect to the collectibles. Fans can build virtual squads and play each other with outcomes derived based on current form and historical data. More …

The Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team is launching a blockchain-powered rewards program within its gaming app. Partnership with Blockparty The Sacramento Kings partnered with New Jersey-based blockchain ticketing platform Blockparty to add blockchain-based rewards to its prediction game Call the Shot, the team officially announced on Oct. 7. According to the announcement, the new program will be available in the upcoming 2019–2020 season. During the season, Blockparty will be tracking Kings fans’ activity while they are betting on Call the Shot — and players will be able to accumulate points in a virtual wallet within the Sacramento Kings + Golden …

The Japanese House of Representatives recently passed new crypto asset regulation affecting exchanges and custodians — the Payment Services Act and the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act. However, the country’s crypto gambling industry still endures strict gambling regulations. “Japan has very strict rules regarding gambling and the same applies to crypto gambling,” Joseph D. Hugh, CFO of international cryptocurrency betting platform Jukebucks, told Cointelegraph, adding: “Although it is very difficult to restrict players who play, the government keeps a close tab on crypto transactions originating from Japan using taxation as an excuse.” Yet, Japan passed a federal law in July …

Spencer Dinwiddie of the Brooklyn Nets professional basketball team is reportedly planning to tokenize his $34 million NBA contract extension. Following a three-year $34 million NBA contract extension, Dinwiddie is reportedly going to sell digital tokens tied to the contract, wherein investors in the offering would receive principal and interest, Fox Business reported on Sept. 14. NBA gradually embraces crypto Dinwiddie thus joined other NBA players engaged with digital currency. In August, the Dallas Mavericks became the second NBA team to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of payment for match tickets and merchandise. Back in 2014, the Mavs’ rivals, …

Turkish Football Club Galatasaray Spor Kulübü plans to launch Ethereum-based fan tokens in partnership with blockchain sports fan startup Socios based on sports tokenization platform Chiliz. Socios announces in a press release published on Sept. 16 that as a result of the partnership, The Lions (Aslanlar) — the only Turkish club to have won a major UEFA competition — will release its fan tokens on its platform. A blockchain sports platform Furthermore, the team will also be present on the firm’s blockchain-based, influence and rewards mobile app for football fans. These fan tokens will allow fans to vote in club-delegated …

The Bitcoin (BTC) symbol will now appear on the shirt sleeve of Watford Football club players, and the team will also accept the cryptocurrency for merchandise purchases. The football club announced in a post on its website published on Sept. 12 that the famous Bitcoin “B” logo will be featured on the player’s uniforms as a result of the club’s partnership with Bitcoin betting platform Sportsbet.io. The team will also accept the leading cryptocurrency as a payment for its merchandise. A public awareness campaign According to the official post, the logo’s addition to the uniform is part of a wider …

Spanish soccer team Atlético de Madrid — which plays in the top professional division of Spain’s soccer league, known as La Liga — is partnering with blockchain platform Socios.com to launch a fan token ecosystem. The news was revealed in a press release shared with Cointelegraph on Sept. 6. Atlético’s fan token As previously reported, Socios has described itself as a blockchain-powered, tokenized application of the “Socios” crowd-management concept of Real Madrid & FC Barcelona (“socios” means member or associate in Spanish). The Socios tokenized voting platform and blockchain-based mobile app is operated by sports blockchain venture chiliZ, which has …

Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets basketball team, said that he recently bought more Bitcoin (BTC). On Aug. 23, Morey tweeted “I just bought more” in response a pro-Bitcoin tweet by Morgan Creek Digital Assets co-founder Anthony Pompliano, who said that Bitcoin allows investors to avoid the chaos of global markets. Indeed, some commentators have suggested that Bitcoin’s price can serve as an indicator of geopolitical turmoil and serve as a safe haven asset for individuals in economically or politically turbulent situations. Pompliano wrote that Morey should now be added to the long list of celebrities, athletes …

English Premiere Leage football club Manchester City (Man City) has announced a partnership with South Korean blockchain football gaming startup Superbloke. Fans can support players through blockchain Under the partnership announced by Man City on Aug. 26, Superbloke incorporates the club’s players into its blockchain-powered soccer game FC Superstars enabling fans to support the athletes through online gaming. Following the partnership, Superbloke becomes Man City’s official blockchain-based Gacha partner in Korea, Japan and South East Asia, as the club announced. FC Superstars is an online collectible decentralized application (DApp) where users can create and grow football star tokens and hold …

Disclaimer: This story is a follow-up to a piece published by Cointelegraph Aug. 13, which appears to be based on flawed sources and which should consequently be considered incorrect. American legendary professional boxer Mike Tyson has denied news putting forward his support for a blockchain-based platform for fighters dubbed Fight to Fame, which is allegedly a fraudulent scheme. In a tweet published on Aug. 14, Tyson said: “I am not involved with Fight to Fame or their countdown website, nor will I be involved with anything related to Fight to Fame now or in the future. Any media reporting my …

The Dallas Mavericks have become the second NBA team to accept Bitcoin (BTC) as a means of payment for match tickets and merchandise. A tweet from cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay confirmed the news on Aug. 13. Mavs’ billionaire owner is a crypto enthusiast Cryptocurrency adoption has been on the horizon for the Mavs since early last year, when team owner and billionaire tech investor Mark Cuban hinted that fans would soon be able to use Bitcoin to buy tickets to the team’s games. A year and a half later, Cuban’s plans have materialized and the Mavs join their NBA rivals, …