Rario, creators of the world’s first Cricket NFT platform, and BlockTrust, an NFT marketplace services provider, have signed a licensing deal with Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers’ Association that will see digital collectible NFTs (non-fungible tokens) from Australian cricket.
As per the companies, this multi-year partnership will introduce non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to cricket fans, creating a new fan engagement tool that celebrates the rich history of Australian cricket.
The partnership will support the growth of the game along with supporting past and present players through their historic achievements being featured in NFT moments.
Rario along with joint-venture partner BlockTrust will also help Australian cricket fans understand, collect, and engage with NFTs by creating an Australian cricket metaverse of collectibles and gaming.
Traditionally collectibles have only featured still images, whereas NFTs can also show the full story of a sporting moment by featuring officially licensed broadcast vision.
“The shot and reaction when Ellyse Perry registered her Ashes double century, the magic moments of Scott Boland’s MCG spell or, back in time, Steve Waugh’s last ball boundary at the SCG in 2003, can now be captured in full action for digital trading cards and memorabilia that fans can own and trade exclusively,” the companies said in a release.
Rario was founded in 2021 by IIT Alumni Ankit Wadhwa and Sunny Bhanot as the world’s first officially licensed digital collectibles platform for cricket fans to collect and trade cricket NFTs (Non-fungible Tokens).
BlockTrust was established in 2020 by Blockchain expert Michael Alexander and IT entrepreneur Michael Haywood.
Commenting of the partnership, Wadhwa, co-founder and CEO of Rario, said, “Yet again Australia has led the way in cricketing innovation by entering the Metaverse with Rario and BlockTrust. This historic collaboration is a first in the cricketing world, where a national board (Cricket Australia) and player’s association (ACA) have come together to define the future of fandom with NFTs. With this partnership, we are excited to give cricket lovers the opportunity to own a part of the sport they love, collect memorable moments and player cards and indulge in cricket NFT based games in the Rario metaverse.”
Rario has already signed exclusive partnerships with the Hero Caribbean Premier League, Lanka Premier League, Abu Dhabi T10 League and Legends League Cricket and has a roster of over 600 international cricketers as well as over 30 exclusive brand ambassadors.
“The game’s deep connection with its past, the passion of our fans and the appeal of Australian cricketers to a global audience, means the incorporation of NFTs is another way that fans across the world can engage and be part of the sport. “This is just the start and I have no doubt we will see enormous benefit for fans, players and the sport itself as we build this exciting partnership,” said Nick Hockley, CEO of Cricket Australia.
