Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shot introduced a new feature to the ongoing NBA Summer League in Vegas. Basically, the trading card platform is minting and selling NFTs exclusively for the live audience via pre-order. The NFTs feature notable and exciting moments from the three-day event which started on August 8 and will end tomorrow, August 10.
The Summer League is a pre-season tournament that takes place after the NBA draft. Usually, newbies and second-year players participate in the games. The league presently has three variants: California, Las Vegas, and Utah.
NBA Top Shot’s Summer League NFTs for LIVE Audience
NBA Top Shot confirmed the innovation through a tweet. It reads, “For the 1st time EVER, Top Shot collectors will have the ability to purchase a Moment in-arena and receive a Moment from a game they saw in-person.”
The NFTs are exclusively available for purchase at a Top Shot Kiosk at section 111 of the Thomas & Mack Center. Each “moment” is available for pre-order at $5and will have at least 1,000 copies made. Plus, even more if the pre-orders are succesful.
In terms of mechanics, each collector is allowed to purchase 10 NFTs per day from the event. Additionally, each of the NBA’s 30 squads is signed on to participate in the League and will be available for the NFT treatment. This format allows an ultimate fan experience and a rare opportunity for collectors.
These NFTs fall under the scarcity level “Fandom”, which sits between regular and rare. The real scarcity is determined by the number of purchases made on game day. Moreover, Top Shot and Dapper Labs have also released non-NFT merchandise.
Explaining the Strategy
Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shot is one of the few NFT projects to have successfully penetrated and sustained its presence in the mainstream market. Despite being an NFT platform, it targeted basketball fans instead of crypto and NFT enthusiasts. Thus, Top Shot has enjoyed a wide and global range. With this strategy, it notched over $700 million total sales in less than a year and amassed more than one million users.
As such, this new strategy is aligned with the core strategy of the platform because it is aimed squarely at basketball fans. Dapper Labs is also providing collectors with a unique hospitality experience at the location. Collectors who participated in different Top Shot challenges during the prior season are among the eligibility requirements. The trade of particular items is required for the missions.
Breaking down the Numbers
This innovation is crucial to the platform’s success. TopShot’s sales hit a high of $224 million in February 2021, with 184,000 purchasers in March. As per CryptoSlam, sales in July were just one-tenth of the best performing month, with $22 in revenue and slightly over 60,000 purchasers.
A lot is riding on to this new strategy of selling NFTs as if they are Over-the-counter (OTC) products. It is worth noting the cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin(BTC) followed this trend as well. Once, there was a time you can only buy BTC through exchanges. However, due to market demand, there has been a shift to OTC platforms. In Hong Kong and the Philippines, you can even buy BTC at retail stores.
The future remains bright for the platform: It raised $305 million based on a $2.6 billion valuation. Plus, according to reports, it intends to seek additional investments at a valuation of $7.5 billion.
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