International Olympic Committee (IOC) and nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands, has announced the upcoming launch of a new Olympic-themed digital entertainment experience consisting of non-fungible token (NFT) Olympic pins and cross-play multiplayer video games developed by nWay as part of a new licensing agreement with the IOC.
The NFT Olympic Pins are digital versions of collectible and tradeable Olympic pins, which will first be distributed and sold on nWayPlay.com starting on 15 June 2021. Being NFTs, the digital Olympic pins will have various properties generally associated with physical pins, including authenticity, scarcity and provenance, making them true collectors’ items.
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The NFT Olympic Pins will launch with an inaugural set that forms part of the Olympic Heritage Collection, which celebrates the art and design of the past Olympic Games and reflects the graphic legacy of the world’s largest sporting event, such as posters, emblems, pictograms and mascots from 125 years of modern Olympic Games.
Collectors can obtain unique and officially licensed NFT Olympic Pins in three ways: 1) by purchasing assorted packs on nWayPlay.com; 2) by purchasing specific pins directly from other collectors on the nWayPlay Marketplace; and 3) by earning them free of charge by playing a real-time Olympic-themed competitive video game connected to nWayPlay, to be launched in the lead-up to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
“Olympic pins started as a way to identify athletes, judges and officials, but over the past 125 years they have become an Olympic Games tradition, where everyone from athletes to event staff, journalists and spectators all take part to collect and trade pins in the Olympic Village and beyond,” said Timo Lumme, Managing Director of IOC Television and Marketing Services. “Today’s announcement is a natural evolution of this tradition, in line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5 and the IOC’s digital strategy to embrace new digital technologies to promote the Olympic values and grow direct relations with our fans. They can now connect with the excitement of the Games in a whole new way and own a piece of Olympic history.”
“We are honoured to collaborate with the IOC to bring the NFT Olympic Pins Collection to the nWayPlay Marketplace for the first time,” said Taehoon Kim, CEO of nWay. “We used our experience as game developers to incorporate high-quality 3D models with animation and visual effects to create truly premium NFTs.”
Collectors will be able to purchase assorted packs of NFT Olympic Pins on nWayPlay.com starting on 15 June, 2021 with the peer-to-peer transaction functionality on the marketplace to come online shortly later. The new related Olympic-themed videogame will be launched later this year, in the lead-up to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.