Blockchain platform VeChain has announced its partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to tokenize fighter gloves and track their identities using the VeChainThor network.
In a recent blog post, the company said that the gloves worn by UFC fighters would be embedded with VeChain near-field communication (NFC) chips, enabling the recording of fight data and ensuring the authenticity of each pair.
Following the fights, the gloves will be donated and given away, turning them into sought-after collectors’ items.
Buyers can verify the authenticity of these gloves through a VeChainThor network smart contract.
VeChain’s Tokenization to Address Fraud Issue
The collaboration aims to address the issue of fraud in the secondary market, where buyers often seek to own gloves worn during specific fights.
By leveraging VeChain’s ToolChain system, a supply-chain management solution, the process of tracking and delivering items to their intended recipients can be streamlined.
The initial release of 12 exclusive gloves will be distributed to A-list celebrities, including Joe Rogan, with UFC CEO Dana White making a live presentation to announce the partnership.
The VeChain community has responded with mixed reactions on the platform’s Reddit board.
Some users expressed enthusiasm for this new use case, highlighting the potential of minting real-world asset gloves as non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for every UFC event.
Others welcomed the idea of merchandise tracking and suggested incorporating QR code scanning during televised events, which would further contribute to burning VeThor (VTHO) tokens.
Today marks a great step forward in our relationship with the @UFC!#VeChain powered NFC and blockchain technology will be integrated into fighter gloves, providing an immutable record usage, and ensures fans receive genuine products, authenticated by blockchain. pic.twitter.com/XFqdlmWqTU
— vechain (@vechainofficial) April 12, 2024
However, not all community members were impressed by the announcement.
Criticism centered around the belief that the transaction fees associated with the gloves would not burn enough VTHO to have a significant impact on the token’s price.
As of April 12, VeThor’s market capitalization stood at over $283 million, positioning it among the top 300 cryptocurrencies globally, according to Coinmarketcap data.
In May 2022, the VeChain Foundation reported having $1.2 billion in its treasury.
The partnership between VeChain and UFC began in June of the same year with a $100 million sponsorship deal, solidifying their collaborative efforts within the mixed martial arts promotion.
Tokenized Funds Continue to Gain Popularity
In a report earlier this year, Moody’s, a leading investment risk assessment firm, revealed the value of tokenized funds surged from $100 million at the beginning of 2023 to approximately $800 million, driven by the rising tokenization of U.S. treasuries.
The report highlighted that both public and private blockchains are witnessing the inclusion of various assets.
Some of the more notable examples include Franklin Templeton’s U.S. Government Money Fund expanding from Stellar to Polygon, Backed Finance launching a tokenized short-term U.S. treasury bond exchange-traded fund (ETF), and UBS Asset Management deploying a tokenized money market fund (MMF) on the Ethereum blockchain.
According to Moody’s, the tokenization of MMFs offers the potential to combine their stability with the technological advantages of stablecoins.
Last month, DigiFT, a Singapore-based fintech company, also announced the launch of its US Treasury bill depository receipt (DR) tokens.
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