Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has made a strategic investment in cricket non-fungible token (NFT) platform Rario.
As part of the deal, Tendulkar will become a brand ambassador of the Dream Capital-backed digital collectibles platform, the NFT platform says in a statement. Tendulkar will also exclusively offer his own digital collectibles on the platform.
“Fans are an integral part of any sport. While the on-field action happens for a few hours, fans carry the memories forward and immortalise those moments forever. It is exciting to see NFT technology bringing fans closer to sports, giving them an opportunity to treasure their favourite moments,” says Tendulkar.
“The team at Rario was committed to building a cricket community using technology in a responsible way. I am therefore happy to partner with the team, to launch my digital collectibles exclusively on the Rario platform,” he adds.
Commenting on the investment, Rario co-founder and CEO Ankit Wadhwa says, “Partnering with the Master Blaster with him investing in Rario is a surreal feeling. It is a testament to our vision of making fandom more accessible. A world where stars don’t just exist on a distant flickering screen or in a crowded stadium, and fans don’t get to be passive observers but active participants.”
Rario says it has similar exclusive tie-ups with many domestic and international cricketers such as Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Rishabh Pant, Smriti Mandhana, Aaron Finch, Faf Du Plessis, Quinton de Kock, Shakib Al Hasan, Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel.
The perspective on digital assets has undergone a radical change in recent years. NFTs are a class of digital assets that use blockchain to track asset ownership and transfer. Since its inception, the craze has spread to include all forms of art, media, fashion, and sports.
NFTs are rapidly approaching the $50 billion market value of all works of art, with a market value of $40 billion, the startup claims.
Rario says it has exclusive partnerships with tournaments such as Cricket Australia, New Zealand Cricket, Big Bash League, Women’s Big Bash League, Super Smash, Hero Caribbean Premier League, Lanka Premier League, Abu Dhabi T10 League, and Legends League Cricket.
It also claims to have a roster of over 900 international cricketers as well as over 30 exclusive brand ambassadors onboard. Rario further claims it has sold over 150,000 NFTs to sports fans across more than 75 countries.
The company counts Animoca Brands, Presight Capital, and Kingsway Capital among its investors and Polygon Studios as a partner.