In a press release on Oct. 16, the Sacramento Kings announced a new collaboration with the creator of Ethereum-based Kaiju toys, CryptoKaiju. The companies will give away 100 limited-edition Kaiju collectible toys throughout the 2019–2020 basketball season.
The Sacramento Kings NBA basketball team has partnered with CryptoKaiju to launch crypto-collectibles.
Each collectible is backed by a non-fungible token, meaning that no two are the same. 15 of these toys will come with a unique experience or prize, such as courtside seats, VIP tours, and signed merchandise, among others.
Sacramento Kings CTO Ryan Montoya said:
“We are thrilled to bring these unique, limited-edition collectibles and immersive experience to our fans. We are always looking for ways to be on the leading-edge of enhancing fan interaction, and this partnership with CryptoKaiju is an exciting opportunity to continue to employ technology that delivers innovative products and content to our fans.”
The collaboration follows last week’s news that the NBA basketball team is launching a blockchain-powered rewards program within its gaming app Call the Shot, which will also be available in the upcoming season.
Sacramento Kings already accepted Bitcoin in 2014
Following a partnership with major cryptocurrency payment processor BitPay, the NBA basketball team became one of the very first sports teams toaccept Bitcoin for its team store in 2014. In August 2019, the Dallas Mavericks started accepting BTC as a means of payment for match tickets and merchandise.
RSK Launches Interoperability Bridge Between Bitcoin and Ethereum
The parent company behind the bitcoin-based smart contract platform RSK has launched a new token bridge joining it to ethereum.
Gibraltar-based developer IOV Labs announced Wednesday that the newly released interoperability bridge would allow users to cross RSK- and ethereum-based digital assets, including ether and ERC-20 tokens, across the different protocols.
When a user transfers tokens, the bridge’s smart contract locks the originals and mints a corresponding amount of new tokens on the other chain. Using the system, ether-based tokens can be transformed into RSK’s RRC20 tokens, which conversely can be turned into ethereum ERC777 tokens.
Interoperability protocols make it easier for projects to operate on different blockchains. Decentralized apps (dapps) can cater to a broader base of users, who would otherwise remain siloed in closed networks, and projects can leverage specific characteristics of different blockchains simultaneously.
“Interoperability has been a cornerstone of the RSK vision from the start,» explained Adrian Eidelman, RSK Strategist at IOV Labs. «We believe being able to offer Bitcoin’s benefits to Ethereum users and to connect these respective developer communities is a crucial step for the blockchain ecosystem as a whole.»
There are other protocols offering interoperability between bitcoin and ethereum: Wanchain launched a token bridge between the two networks in 2018. Edelman told CoinDesk that while Wanchain focuses on connecting blockchains by being a «middleman,» RSK is different in that it actually combines the networks, allowing both ecosystems to leverage the other’s strengths.
Bitcoin stablecoin protocol Money on Chain, which uses bitcoin as collateral for new tokens, has already said it will use the new RSK bridge to cross its stablecoins onto the ethereum ecosystem. The project’s co-founder Max Carjuzaa said the new interoperability would combine the security and «global recognition of Bitcoin with the vibrant DeFi ecosystem currently developed in Ethereum.”
Last September, IOV labs said it would integrate RSK tokens into its newly acquired Spanish-language social media network, Taringa. Further information regarding any possible integrations with the interoperability bridge will be released in the coming months, a spokesperson said.
