Tero Labs launches NFT platform for redeeming exclusive items from the Rough Diamonds collection
At the end of December, a fan disbursed US$ 30,000 for a non-fungible token (NFT) for a Palmeiras revelation that will play for Real Madrid . This is because the crypto asset was linked to the possession of the first professional shirt worn by Endrick, a 16-year-old athlete from Verdão, used in the rout over Coritiba in early October. The NFT is part of the “Rough Diamonds” project, launched in June last year by the startup Tero Labs , which is a spin off of the startup Tero in partnership with LaLiga (Professional Football League of Spain), whose proposal is to support the career of young promises of the Brazilian Football Team to tail NFTs long.
In the wake of the project's evolution, Tero Labs has just released a Tero Store , an NFTs platform, the RDs, which will work as a kind of utility token accumulation card which, in this case, will be used as a bargaining chip to redeem various benefits and products related to Rough Diamonds collectibles.-- nbsp;
“By holding [keeping] an athlete's NFT, you earn tokens and these tokens can be exchanged exclusively for experiences and/or memories within the platform. The more people have and maintain the NFTs, the more experiences are added, and the more value is generated for all project holders”, explained the platform’s CEO, Bruno Pessoa.
Part of the Tero Store strategy will count on the collaboration of Antonio Tabet, founder of the Porta dos Fundos channel, which opens up the possibility of creating humorous content with the language of a reality show for products made available to RD holders, with the creation exclusive content from a kind of healthy competition between players, for example.
“There is a huge range. An almost infinite horizon of resources that can strengthen the relationship between fans and idols. Because communication moves in short, quick cycles, lots of balls are bouncing and no one kicks. Sometimes, literally”, anticipated Tabet suggesting that balls used in matches may end up on the shelves of those who acquire the NFTs.
Creator of Cartola FC and gamification consultant for Rough Diamonds, Newton Fleury Filho added:
"Imagine that Endrick is nominated, and he certainly will be, for the Ballon d'Or in a few years. At that moment, we unlock a series of physical collectibles to celebrate the moment. These collectibles are linked to a video on the Blockchain in which the player himself certifies the collectible and thanks the fans. Holders of their NFT earn several points and, if they have enough points, they can exchange them for numbered collectibles (a replica of the autographed Ballon d'Or, for example) or experiences such as going to the Ballon d'Or ceremony and having a meet & greet with the athlete himself."
Among the treats at Tero Store is the shirt autographed by Luís Gustavo, a Corinthians revelation, used in his first goal scored by the Brazilian under-17 team.
Luís Gustavo's autographed shirt is one of the items at Tero Store. Image: Disclosure/Tero Labs
Growth of sports NFTs
Bruno Pessoa stressed that he is betting on the growth of sports NFTs in the Brazilian market and explained that the crypto winter has the positive side of filtering the projects that are really building relevant solutions. Regarding Rough Diamonds, he classified the progress of the project as extremely positive and added that:
“We had a very positive surprise with the adhesion of the Brazilian public right away. We imagined this later on, but the passion for football and the athletes has really been greater than we imagined.”
The CEO of Tero Labs also said that one of the favorable reasons for the advancement of sports NFTs is the tendency of new generations to connect more with idols than with the clubs themselves.
“A lot of people cheered for Messi to win the cup instead of Argentina. Many are now looking to follow CR7 in Saudi Arabia and the club ended up having a monstrous growth in their social networks. New times require new solutions and we believe that through the NFTs we can unite athlete and fan”, he justified.
The executive commented on the recent selection of athletes from the Rough Diamonds project for the under-17 team, saying that:
“The growth of our athletes attracts more users to the platform. The more they grow their personal audiences, the more people are interested in being part of their unique communities, the more interest there is in physical memorabilia. Supply and demand in vein.”
Bruno ended by saying that he believes that sports NFTs related to memories should grow 10 times more in the coming years by justifying that:
“Today you enter a website to buy an autographed shirt, or a shirt used by an athlete in a game, but you are not sure if that really happened. Via blockchain, this authentication will be simple and will allow the football fan to know exactly what he is buying.”
