NEWS

The Olympics vaults into NFT space and details new video game title with nWay

Published on: 3rd June 2021

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has detailed its launch into the NFT market thanks to a new partnership with nWay, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands.

The deal will witness the launch of a new Olympic-themed digital entertainment, consisting of NFT Olympic pins and crossplay multiplayer video games, all developed by nWay.

The NFT Olympic Pins are digital versions of collectable and tradeable Olympic Pins, which will first be distributed and sold on nWayPlay.com starting on 17 June, 2021. These digital Olympic Pins will have various properties generally associated with physical pins, including authenticity, scarcity, and provenance.

The 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; either by purchasing assorted packs on nWayPlay.com; by purchasing specific pins directly from other collectors on the nWayPlay Marketplace; or by earning them free of charge by playing a real-time Olympic-themed competitive video game connected to nWayPlay.

The new game will 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 it has 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.”

Taehoon Kim, CEO of nWay, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with the IOC to bring the NFT Olympic Pins Collection to the nWayPlay Marketplace for the first time. 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 17 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.

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