DraftKings, Ethereum Platform Team on NFT

The digital sports gaming company DraftKings is working with the Ethereum-based scaling platform Polygon to support custom NFT drops on the DraftKings marketplace. As Seeking Alpha reported on Monday (Oct. 18), the deal gives the marketplace a blockchain solution that’s both scalable and eco-friendly.

“Scalability and sustainability remain among the critical challenges of blockchain technology, so as we lay the groundwork today for the vision of DraftKings Marketplace tomorrow, the vast insights and proven products from Polygon around scalable solutions are invaluable,” said Paul Liberman, co-founder and president of global product and technology at DraftKings. “Although DraftKings Marketplace is still in its nascency, we are bullish on the possibilities that blockchain, NFTs, cryptocurrency and more will present as we prepare for Web 3.0 alongside Polygon and the new innovations ahead for digital collectibles.”

In August, DraftKings began hosting a series of exclusive NFT drops of famous athletes, Wayne Gretzky and Tom Brady among them, all of which sold out almost instantly. The NFTs were available exclusively through DraftKings Marketplace and on Autograph.

“NFTs bring an entirely new dimension to the collector experience, and I cannot wait for people to discover and engage with this first-ever drop of Autograph’s official digital collectibles,” said Tom Brady, co-founder of Autograph. “We created Autograph as a way for fans and collectors to own a piece of iconic moments in sports and entertainment through authenticated and official digital collectibles, and we are just getting started!”

Seeking Alpha notes that its contributor, The Asian Investor, believes DraftKings stock represents a good value on the heels of its recent ~19% price drop and the company’s acquisition of Golden Nugget.

DraftKings was reportedly preparing last month to make a $20 billion offer made up of mostly DraftKings stock and cash for U.K. online sports betting company Entain. Earlier this year, Entain turned away an $11 billion all-stock offer from MGM Resorts.

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