DraftKings, Polygon Team Up on Blockchain Accord

DraftKings (NASDAQ:DKNG) is forging deeper into the cryptocurrency space, announcing today that it’s partnering with Polygon to back up debuts on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on DraftKings Marketplace.

DraftKings Marketplace of late launched and features “curated NFT drops and supports secondary-market transactions.” The political program partners with Autograph, an NFT collecting political platform cofounded past Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal caller and seven-time Super Bowl prizewinning Uncle Tom Brady. That relationship is pertinent, because Autograph has agreements with film studio Lionsgate, as advantageously as NFT deals with Tiger Woods, John Wayne Gretzky, Derek Jeter, Noemi Osaka, and Tony Hawk.

With Polygon, which is based on the Ethereum blockchain, DraftKings adds throughput and expands digital token capabilities.

Also notably, DraftKings now has the alternative to potentially chip in to Polygon’s governance, and assist untroubled the electronic network as a validator client with its own stakes pool,” according to a statement.

The proclamation comes as Bitcoin, the largest digital currency by marketplace capitalization, is higher past octad percent over the past week. Polygon, list 21 past marketplace crest among cryptocurrencies, is upward almost 18 percent over the same period.

DraftKings Has Eyes for Crypto

As a young companion that counts plenty of young, crypto-savvy investors among its clients, DraftKings’ comprehend of digital assets and NFTs isn’t surprising.

Earlier this year, CEO Jason Robins said he’d same his company to admit crypto as a var. of payment for online casinos and sports betting. But body politic regulators currently don’t countenance that. He’s generally bullish on crypto, noting the plus grade will “likely transubstantiate some entire industries and portions of others.”

While it may live a while before regulators sign on away on gaming companies accepting digital currency as payment, the Polygon accordance hastens DraftKings’ raise inward ii emerging categories: crypto and NFTs. With the facilitate of Polygon, DraftKings customers inwards the US and Canada testament eventually be able to purchase NFTs on DraftKings Marketplace and make a motion those digital artworks to digital wallets on Ethereum Mainnet.

For its part, Polygon is expanding its exposure to gaming, though it’s inward forms beyond traditional online sports betting.

“Teaming up with DraftKings Marketplace marks the in style(p) major integration for Polygon alongside existing partners that include Atari, Decentraland, OpenSea, The Sandbox, ZED RUN, Neon District and others,” according to the statement.

DraftKings’ Evolution

While DraftKings Marketplace and the arrangement with Polygon are young endeavors for the gaming company, those are signs the operator views itself as often more than a gaming enterprise.

There’s verbalise inward the investment community that inward the future, DraftKings won’t looking practically the likes of it does today, as it expands beyond canonical gaming operations.

Some investors already view that potential, with some viewing DraftKings as a society with emerging fintech credibility. That status is enhanced past the firm’s growing crypto and NFT footprints.