National Basketball League (NBA) megastar Steph Curry looks set to introduce his own version of the Metaverse to NBA’s 650 million fans — filing a “Curryverse” trademark application on Oct. 26.
If approved, the United States-based trademark application, filed by SC30 Inc. will grant the four-time NBA champion exclusive rights for “entertainment services, namely, personal and virtual and metaversal appearances.”
According to the filing, the “Curryverse” will also provide “online gaming services in the nature of virtual worlds,” where players will be able to earn both fungible and nonfungible tokens (NFTs), which will be able to be bought or sold at an “online marketplace.”
The application also covers virtual clothing and goods, business management and investment services, charitable fundraising services, and software as a service (Saas) featuring software platforms for designing, promoting, selling, and exchanging NFTs, among others.
While more specific details of the Curryverse haven’t been announced, the NBA star’s metaverse will likely garner a lot of attention given his 47 million fan base on Instagram and 17.1 million followers on Twitter.
While the Metaverse-related trademark appears to be a first for Curry, it definitely isn’t his first move into Web3.
In August 2021, Curry first became a part of the NFT community following a $206,000 Bored Ape Yacht Club purchase.
The Golden State Warriors player’s liking for golf also led him to invest in LinksDAO — a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) that aimed to build the “world’s greatest golf community.”
The NBA superstar has also featured in an FTX advertisement in March as part of his ambassador role with the popular crypto exchange.
NBA’s Miami Heat gets Web3 sponsor
Meanwhile, just eight days after landing a multi-year partnership with National Football League (NFL) team New England Patriots, blockchain infrastructure firm Chain has just become the official “Web3/Blockchain infrastructure partner” of the Miami Heat.
Chain stated in its Nov. 1 press release that its partnership will aim to “bridge the gap between the sports industry and Web3 technology” by providing a suite of products and services that “address the complexities of overall blockchain management.”
Related: Aussie media company goes all in on NBA fan engagement with NFTs
The partnership will also see Chain’s logo be imprinted on the Miami Heat player’s pre-game shooting shirt, with the blockchain solutions company also set to prominently feature on the NBA team’s social media platforms.
Things are HEATing up this fall. Chain is proud to announce a partnership with the @MiamiHEAT as their official Web3/Blockchain infrastructure partner. Read more: https://t.co/7mgQVHPmAR pic.twitter.com/FhBeabooAp
— Chain (@Chain) October 31, 2022
In Mar. 2021, FTX entered a $135 million partnership with the Florida-based team to secure naming rights to the Miami Heat’s 21,000 seat stadium until 2040 — which is now officially called FTX Arena.
