eResearch| Fandifi Technology (fka Fandom Sports Media Corp.) (CSE: FDM | OTC: FDMSF | FSE: TQ43), a Vancouver-based gaming and entertainment company, is all set to launch its all-ages gamification platform that will reward fan engagement with non-fungible tokens (NFTs).
Recently, the company completed the development of its Prediction Engine, NFT trading platform, and outlined the strategy for product launch, gamification, and rewards implementation.
The gamification and rewards engines will allow viewers to play and predict across a wide spectrum of their favorite live and pre-recorded events, and get rewarded with NFTs for fan engagement. These events include MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, major international Soccer leagues, Esports as well as all streamed and broadcast content.
The Fandifi Website
Fandifi’s modular peer-to-peer (P2P) sports wagering platform (www.fandomesports.gg) was launched in January 2022. The platform went live, enabling the company to transition to an operating and revenue-generating enterprise.
The online platform and mobile application allow fans to wager and make predictions to earn rewards by engaging with real-time streamed and broadcast content such as sporting and real-time events.
Users are able to watch their favorite content and use Fandifi’s Prediction Engine to make predictions and wagers against their friends or the global community. The company’s tagline is “Play, Predict, and Get Rewarded.”
The Fandifi platform is also mobile-friendly for predictions and data interactions, which operates on Android or iOS devices, allowing the company to target a large number of fans.
The platform was fully integrated with the company’s partner banks and online payment solutions, including Skrill and NETELLER, allowing customers to fund their accounts to facilitate P2P wagering on sports and Esports.
Fandomart – Fandifi NFT Marketplace
Fandifi recently completed Fandomart (www.fandomart.com), a NFT marketplace where fans can mint, buy, sell, trade, and store their NFTs.
Users will be able to create NFTs on the go and in real-time by capturing moments from their favourite events while also enjoying their streams, introducing new levels of fan engagement.
Most importantly, Fandomart supports interoperability with other NFT exchanges, allowing users to exchange items between platforms and protocols.
Final Steps – Gamification and Rewards Engine
Fandifi development teams are completing the gamification and rewards engine, expected to be finished in the second quarter of 2022, and, once launched, users will be able to watch live events and engage with other fans by predicting, wagering, and creating real-time NFTs, all on one platform.
After the launch, Fandifi aims to present specific monetization and customer acquisition opportunities to content creators and key industry stakeholders worldwide. Potential partners could include streaming and broadcast platforms including some of the most popular social platforms.
By embedding its technology with partner organizations, Fandifi plans to cast a wide net for audience aggregation and revenue generation.
Why Fandifi Chose Polygon over Ethereum?
In October 2021, Fandifientered into a technology partnership with Polygon (formerly known as Matic), a blockchain framework that builds and connects Ethereum-compatible blockchain networks, to support efficient and scalable minting on its NFT marketplace (www.fandomart.com).
Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source platform based on blockchain technology with Ether or ETH as its native cryptocurrency. The platform establishes a safe P2P network for application code execution and verification, also known as Smart Contracts.
Fandifi tried several blockchain protocol organizations that could facilitate this capability but finally decided to settle for Polygon. The platform matched the company’s vision for real-time NFT creation and trading.
Although a large number of NFT platforms still use Ethereum, it is quite costly and slower, especially when it comes to mass adoption. Fandifi wanted to leverage a blockchain network that was not just fast but inexpensive and secure at the same time, so it chose Polygon.
Polygon has been designed to regulate in a way so that a whole ecosystem of blockchains cannot function as closed-off silos. Instead, it works as part of a wider interconnected spectrum. More importantly, the Polygon blockchain network is much faster than Ethereum, and its network fees are also highly manageable.
Another reason for choosing Polygon was it already works with most of today’s major blockchain-based Web 3.0 games and NFT projects, including Decentraland, Opensea, and The Sandbox. Additionally, it has six times more gaming and NFT dApps (decentralized apps that use NFTs and operate automatically through smart contracts) as compared to any other blockchain outside of Ethereum.
NFT Marketplace Rivaling Traditional Art Market
In recent years, the global NFT market has grown at a rapid pace. According to Chainalysis, a blockchain data analytics firm, the market grew to approximately $41 billion (C$51 billion) in 2021. For 2020, the NFT sales of conventional art and antiques stood at $50 billion (C$62.7 billion).
Launched in December 2017, OpenSea is an open-source, decentralized platform for digital assets based on the Ethereum blockchain technology. It is considered to be the largest NFT marketplace in the world that allows users to create, purchase and sell NFTs on the go.
In January 2022, OpenSea’s parent company’s, Ozone Networks, total valuation reached $13.3 billion (C$16.5 billion). For the year 2021, the volume of transactions on the platform stood at over $14 billion (C$17.5 billion), representing year-over-year growth of 646%.
Earlier this month, GameStop’s (NYSE:GME) highly anticipated NFT marketplace was launched in beta mode. First introduced in May 2021, the platform is based on Loopring Technology zkRollup Layer2 (L2) protocol by Ethereum, for cryptocurrency payment and trading services. GameStop aims to provide a cost-effective, fast and secure way for users to manage NFTs.
NFT Companies Booking Billion-Dollar Deals
Last fall, Sorare, a France-based NFT start-up, raised $680 million (C$755 million) in Europe’s biggest ever Series B funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to over $4.3 billion (C$5.4 billion) and Dapper Labs, a Vancouver-based NFT start-up, raised $250 million in its latest funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to over $7.6 billion (C$9.5 billion).
Sorare plans to use the proceeds to build its soccer-focused fantasy sports NFT platform and signed up with the top 20 football leagues, while Dapper Labs plans to use the funds to enhance user experience on its platform, develop new IP, and expand its Flow blockchain. Dapper Labs is best known for developing NBA Top Shot, an NBA-focused-NFT marketplace that allows users to buy and sell collectibles, and recently it secured an NFT deal with La Liga.
In January, NFL quarterback Tom Brady’s NFT platform, Autograph.io, raised $170 million (C$211 million) in a Series B funding round led by venture capital firms, Andreessen Horowitz and Kleiner Perkins. Autograph features NFT collections from various celebrities across the sports and entertainment industry, including The Weeknd, Naomi Osaka, Tiger Woods, Simone Biles, Tony Hawk, and Usain Bolt.
In March, Immutable, an Australia-based NFT Platform, raised $200 million (C$252 million) in a Series C funding round, taking the start-up’s valuation to over $2.5 billion (C$3.1 billion). Immutable is best known for developing NFT-based games like Gods Unchained and Guild of Guardians, and Ethereum-scaling infrastructure platform, Immutable X (IMX). Immutable plans to use the proceeds to expand its business footprint outside Australia, as well as fund its potential mergers and acquisitions.
Fandifi’s Strategy
Fandifi plans to capitalize on the current trends and build its platform at the intersection of live streaming, Esports, and sports with unique NFTs. With the company’s innovative prediction technologies, the marketplace will allow for specific utilities across a range of content platforms.
Fandifi is currently trading at C$0.22 with a market capitalization of less than C$20 million.
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