The newest sports NFT on the block, Eterlast, has just raised €4.5 million to make its debut. The business, with roots in London and Barcelona, aims to provide a new platform for fans to interact with athletes, teams, and teams through NFTs, blockchain games, and immersive experiences.
Sport & NFTs
Sports are among the most valuable sectors of the global economy driven by communities. It is a sector about bringing people together. There is an entire business at work linking inspirational sports stars with their followers to promote sports, expand fan communities, and financially support teams.
While watching a live sporting event will never be able to match the thrill, there is a massive market for Web3 gaming and Web3 sports, and it’s only getting started. By the end of this year, the demand for sports NFTs alone is expected to have risen by 60%, and in ten years, it is anticipated that the market for NFT sports collectors will reach $92 million.
Eterlast Startup
Immutable X, a scaling solution built on the industry-leading zero-knowledge-proof technology from StarkWare, powers Eterlast. With the help of this partnership, well-known sports companies can quickly deploy gasless and carbon-neutral NFTs to increase their digital footprint and monetize huge content repositories by producing digital assets for fans without sacrificing brand protection. These assets will continue to exist in a decentralized ecosystem, be protected by Ethereum’s impregnable security, and be tradable on all exchanges that accept Immutable X, thanks to the Layer 2 solution.
In this situation, a startup called Eterlast has come out of hiding with new capital to lead the future of sports entertainment. The firm, which has offices in London and Barcelona, has raised around €4.5 million from some of the most recognizable gaming, Web3, and digital content brands. Supernode Global led the funding, and additional participants like; Play Ventures, Active Partners, Founders Factory, Stake Capital, and Immutable X.
Oli Strong of Supernode Global said, “We are thrilled to be heading Eterlast’s Seed round. The team has done an outstanding job, gaining great alliances and IP to incorporate with their platform. There is a significant opportunity at the nexus of Sport and Web3, and Eterlast is ideally situated to take advantage of it. We are excited to participate in this crucial moment for the company and many other specialized investors.”
Evolution of sports entertainment
Eterlast, a company founded by Joan Roure, aspires to integrate the sports and entertainment communities into the metaverse by collaborating with top-tier sporting organizations. Working with boxing and rugby, two of the biggest sports in the world, the startup is off to a great start.
By creating digital collectibles, blockchain games, and in-person events that encourage consumer engagement and reward fanaticism, Eterlast hopes to redefine how fans consume sports entertainment.
Using digital collectibles as in-game resources for an immersive gaming experience that unlocks real-world benefits transforms NFTs from a single-purchase journey to an interactive experience. It is a novel strategy for fans to engage with their favorite sports teams and athletes, democratizing digital property rights for fans worldwide.
Future Plans
Eterlast’s CEO and founder, Joan Roure, stated, “We are on a mission to create a gateway for the next billion fans to access Web 3. With hundreds of millions of fans regularly engaging with their sport, we want to assemble the world’s fragmented sports. We view NFTs as a technology, not a product, which improves the experience of the present use cases for gaming, collecting, and attending live events. We are creating integrated ecosystems that combine those three aspects with this viewpoint.”
The startup, a Founders Factory spinoff, has already established a relationship with Queensberry Promotions, the top boxing promoter, and obtained access to the most extensive archive of fights, including Mike Tyson, Tyson Fury, and Ricky Hatton, among others. Eterlast plans to launch more than a dozen international sports IPs in the web3 space in the coming months. With this new funding, Eterlast will concentrate on increasing brand partnerships and user acquisition.