CR7 is starting to participate in NFTs.

The football phenom revealed his exclusive collaboration with Binance today. The multi-year contract, according to Ronaldo, will provide fans the chance to “own an iconic piece of sports history” and take part in his Web3 community.

In a video, Ronaldo stated, “Today we are going to transform the NFT game and move football to the next level.”

The Binance-controlled exchange and the Binance Smart Chain are two of the largest elements of one of cryptocurrency’s largest ecosystems (BSC). With 407 different protocols built atop it and $5.92 billion in value locked, BSC is the second-most used blockchain (after Ethereum).

Binance has had trouble creating a thriving native NFT ecosystem despite these great figures. With only $79 million in total trade volume, PancakeSwap, the decentralized exchange and flagship protocol of Binance, ranks twenty out of the NFT markets (OpenSea and LooksRare, two Ethereum marketplaces, had respective trading volumes of $31.24 billion and $23.23 billion).

Therefore, the alliance with Ronaldo might be interpreted as an effort by Binance to add value to BSC and start growing the NFT market share of the blockchain. On this retweet of the formal announcement, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao “CZ” may have hinted as much: “Now, we start.”

This week saw the announcement of several noteworthy NFT partnerships, such as Pharell Williams’ recent appointment as Chief Brand Officer for the Doodles line.

• In order to showcase Asian NFT initiatives to a worldwide audience, the alliance involves conference collaborations and ecosystem awards.

• The largest NFT marketplace in the world supports four blockchains: Klaytn, Polygon, Solana, and Ethereum.

• The blockchain subsidiary of South Korean internet behemoth Kakao, Ground X, founded the Klaytn Foundation.

• On its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project, the Bank of Korea collaborates with Ground X.

The NHL’s market will fall between a full-fledged NFT trading platform and a website that enables momentary NFT drops, according to David Lehanski, the league’s executive vice president of business development and innovation.

By creating an NFT marketplace with exclusive releases, the NHL hopes to give fans a little bit of both. In preparation for the commencement of the 2022–2023 season, the NHL’s Sweet marketplace is anticipated to launch in October.

The NHL aims to gamify NFTs with “questing and collecting” components so that fans will interact and can be rewarded with benefits like other NFTs, according to Lehanski, who spoke to Decrypt.

Depending on a player’s performance, some of the NFTs will also be dynamic and alter over time. According to a statement, NFTs will also include “cinematic game highlights from past and present NHL seasons” or surprise packs of NFTs that may be seen in “3D interactive trophy rooms.”

Lehanski claimed that the NHL wasn’t yet ready to reveal which blockchain it would be constructing on. Though it might be on Polygon or Tezos if Sweet’s offerings are any indicator.

Lehanski stated, “We’re looking at everything,” and that the NHL’s top priorities in its search for a blockchain include “cheap gas expenses” and “environmental sustainability.”

The NHL is one of the most recent major professional sports leagues to enter the NFT market, following the NBA’s Top Shot NFTs, the NFL’s “play and own” NFT game, and MLB’s impending NFT contest.

Lehanski commented on the NHL’s approach to NFTs, saying, “There was clearly a lot of temptation to potentially moving very rapidly […] but we thought that was a little shortsighted.” He added that, in his opinion, spending the time to investigate indicators like fan behavior was worthwhile. Especially in relation to digital collectibles and gaming, NFTs have a long-term future as relevant and meaningful items for enthusiasts.

But according to Sweet CEO Tom Mizzone, the NHL’s NFTs won’t simply be targeted at hockey fans who are unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies; seasoned NFT collectors will also be able to participate in a way that feels natural to them.

It will undoubtedly appeal to that degen culture, he continued, but not to the extent that it excludes fancier consumer bases.