The Olympic Games were always an opportunity for the host country to show off the latest tech development and dazzle the audience across the world with its achievements. This is also the case regarding how cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology are used within the context of the Olympic Games.
Paris Olympics will be the game of many firsts for cryptocurrencies and their different uses during the games. This article will outline some of the most interesting examples that will probably catch on much after 2024. Some of these are oriented towards the players and the national teams; others are improvements made for fans.
Crypto Sponsorships
Cryptocurrencies sponsor many sports teams all over the world, and in this Olympics, they will sponsor national teams for the first time. It’s a way for smaller and niche sports that also have their place at the Olympics to get the sponsorship they need and they couldn’t get otherwise.
For instance, the Jamaican team has covered their expenses for the Winter Olympics by setting up fundraisers that accept digital and fiat currency. They’ve collected over $25,000 in Dogecoin alone. Cryptocurrencies will also sponsor individual athletes that compete in the Olympics.
Tokens For Inspiring Athletes
One of the ways to support individual athletes is through NFT tokens. Many teams and companies have already issued these as they are immutable and represent partial ownership. Athletes can release these as memorabilia and serialized novelty purchases that will also be put towards funding their Olympics costs.
NFT tokens such as these also foster a sense of community around those who use them, which can also have an impact on fan engagement. It’s expected that in Paris, such tokens will be released by national teams and individual athletes, especially for individual sports such as martial arts.
Betting on Events
The sports betting industry has been accepting cryptocurrency payments for years. Many sites cater to the needs of those who prefer crypto payments, and players can use resources such as wegamble.org to find the one that suits them best. Crypto can be used to make all the wagers and use all the bonuses otherwise available when using fiat money.
There are also many advantages that come from using blockchain technology to make wagers on sports events. These include faster transfers, anonymous wagering, and lower fees since no centralized financial institutions are involved.
Buying Tickets With Crypto
Fans will be able to buy tickets for events using cryptocurrencies as a payment method. On the face of it, the process is the same as purchasing the tickets using fiat money, but it comes with a few hidden features that are a substantial improvement for the fans.
· The use of blockchain will stop counterfeiting since the fans won’t actually buy a ticket but a unique digital asset that can be used to gain access to events and games.
· It will also stop the scalping practice, meaning resealing the tickets. Blockchain will make every digital asset unique and immutable.
Mixing Fantasy Sports and Real-Life Events
Fantasy sports have been around for a long time, but in recent years, there’s been a push to make them a part of the mainstream and for official events to sponsor them. This will be the case with the Olympics in Paris and with the help of cryptocurrencies.
Fantasy sports are now a multi-billion dollar industry; a big chunk of that is transferred to cryptocurrencies. The performance and skills in the real world would determine how the fantasy team performs, therefore mixing the two audiences.
Using Blockchain for Drug Testing
Drug testing has long been a standard practice in the Olympic Games, but it was also controversial as there have been serious claims that some national teams are avoiding the testing. The use of blockchain can help with this problem by tying the data collected from the tests with the blockchain code.
That way, no one can temper with the data once the tests have been completed, as there’s no one way to change the blockchain code. Some small sports events have already taken advantage of the technology and the security it provides, and the Olympics would be a big test for its viability.
Performance Data
Collecting performance data has been an essential part of any sports event for decades now, and in recent years, huge advancements have been made in this area. At this point, almost every minute detail about events, teams, and individual players is collected and quantified.
Blockchain technology will play a significant role in this process in the upcoming Olympics, allowing an enormous amount of data to be immutable and transferred to fans. It will lead to much better predictions and repercussions on the whole sports betting industry.
Collectibles and Memorabilia
Olympics were always the key event for those interested in sports memorabilia such as coins, jerseys, medals, etc. This year, there will also be a rise in digital memorabilia. These come in the form of NFT collectibles. The Olympic Games and individual teams and players will release the series of NFT collectibles.
The fans pay for partial or complete ownership of these using cryptocurrencies, and that ownership remains immutable, even though the images themselves are easy to copy and share. It’s been the norm for digital memorabilia collections since the NBA introduced its NFT series years ago.
Blockchain-Based Security Systems
French authorities have also come out with comprehensive surveillance plans that will guarantee safety at the Olympics. The Games will take place at a time of complex political pressures, including the Gaza and Ukraine wars, as well as domestic turbulence, strikes, and potential terrorist threats. All of these require Paris to employ the latest artificial intelligence security measures.
Per a report from The Telegraph, the upcoming Paris Olympics plans to feature a controversial AI-powered camera that is capable of detecting up to eight disturbances during the games. Six such AI-powered cameras have been deployed to Accor Arena. They are situated in and around the arena to check how they monitor crowd movement as well as how well they can detect suspicious movements.
Fan Created Content
All of the crypto-based features we mentioned are a part of the planned activities set up by the Games or the national teams. The fans, spectators, and visitors will also create crypto-related or facilitated content.
Creating meme coins that take off and become popular isn’t uncommon, and there are many sports-related examples. We can never know which event at the Olympics may inspire such a moment, but chances are that there will be some.
To Sum Up
The 2024 Summer Olympics held in Paris will be an opportunity for the hosts to use blockchain and crypto in a variety of innovative ways. Some of these have already been tried in smaller sports events, and others will be brand new and may become examples to follow for future championships.
Cryptocurrencies will sponsor teams; they will be used to make wagers and buy tickets. Blockchain will also be used to store data, improve statistics, and make drug tests for athletes fairer and safer. NFTs will be used in this Olympics as a way to create modern fan memorabilia.
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