The World Poker Tour (WPT) is set to launch the world’s first-ever NFT marketplace, in partnership with Theta Labs, creators of the native blockchain Theta Network.
The new partnership will enable the WPT to sell some pieces of the tour’s top-notch poker action as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The final date of the NFT launch has yet to be announced, but it will accompany the premiere of WPT’s Season XVIII on Bally Sports Networks.
How NFTs Work
For those who are not familiar with NFTs, they can be looked at as digital data that is stored on the blockchain network. The form of digital data can be anything from unique music, art, video and photos to name a few. NFTs are digital assets that are unique and not interchangeable.
Buying an NFT gives the person the proof of ownership of a particular item, similar to owning a cryptocurrency, but each NFT cannot be replaced with something else.
For example, you can trade one bitcoin for another bitcoin, but you cannot exchange an NFT for a similar item. Hence, you claim the rights to the original work, enabling you to transfer that token to your digital wallet. It’s like owning an original painting, no matter how many immitations or copies are produced out of that painting.
The buy and sell of NFTs is the latest craze in the world of arts, music, and entertainment today. The value of each token differs according to what the buyer can afford to pay. For instance, an NFT can be sold for a much higher price, especially if it is created by a well-known artist.
The huge interest on NFTs began when an artist known as “Beeple” managed to sell a piece of digital art for a whopping $69 million, when the initial price was just $100.
Grimes, a musician hailing from Canada, was also able to earn around $6 million selling her artworks as NFTs. The hype was boosted further when the founder of Twitter transformed his first tweet into an NFT, selling it for just under $3 million.
Poker World Joins The NFT Trend
WPT’s upcoming NFT launch effectively adds poker to the list of industries joining the craze. WPT CEO Adam Pliska said their partnership with Theta Labs is one of their biggest digital initiatives to date, combining their wide global reach with an NFT marketplace.
This means some of the world’s top poker pros and famous personalities will now be exposed to the NFT sphere, and poker fans around the globe will now get the opportunity to own a piece of selected and rare poker action and highlights in real time.
This will come in the form of video snippets or footage of some of the most remarkable moments in a poker event. The NBA Top Shot, for example, sells basketball moments as NFTs in three levels: Base, Rare, and Legendary, with prices going as high as $999. The WPT could adopt a similar approach, though there have been no details yet as to the pricing.
In their recent presser, the WPT said that the late Mike Sexton will be featured in the upcoming NFT launch. Only three releases will be auctioned off in the NFT marketplace, so fans of the legendary poker player and WPT commentator should watch out for that.
WPT’s NFT transactions will be powered by the Theta Network, a blockchain designed for decentralized video streaming and data delivery, providing solutions to the common problems and issues that the video streaming world currently faces. It’s considered as one of the most exciting and promising blockchain ventures out there.
Mitch Liu, co-founder and CEO of Theta Labs, said they are excited to partner with WPT in launching the next-generation NFT marketplace. The new initiative will boost real-time engagement among the tour’s 140 million viewers across the globe. Among the key benefits of transacting on the Theta-powered NFT platform are lower fees, faster transaction times, and more eco-friendly processing.
For more information, visit the WPT website. Pre-registration is now open at WPT.THETADROP.COM.