Would You Play Fantasy Sports with Cryptocurrency?

So far in 2018, all we have known in the crypto market is the bearish trend. A lot of people have likened this trend to the bear market in 2014. I wasn’t in crypto in 2014, but I have read quite a bit about the bear market that rocked the crypto-verse then. Unlike today, people thought bitcoin was actually going to die off. Though Bitcoin clearly prevailed, the fact remains that a lot of crypto coins died, leaving only the genuine ones that survived.

Cryptocurrencies that have a genuine use case will stand the test of time. There will always be bear trends and volatility, but use case will trump all in the survival and growth of the altcoin.

There is a cogent problem when it comes to some blockchain projects. There are companies developing tokens for the sake of capital raise and market dominance when there are existing tokens that provide the solutions they require. An example of the industry that this affects is the gaming industry.

There are quite a number of gaming tokens. Each one is different from the other in distinctive features. We have examples like ENJ, FUN and many others. But you know the problem; it will be extremely difficult for just one coin to rule the industry. Online gambling is said to generate about $56B per annum, which makes room for a lot of competition. Hence, the goal here is not to get to the moon but to have a token that will always be in demand. An already existing product makes me score a crypto project quite high and this crypto project has that. The already existing platform is PlayUp and the crypto project is PlayChip.

Now, this is not a financial or an investment advice. This is an informative review and overview of a crypto project for enthusiasts who would be interested in it or something like it.

PlayChip is a crypto token created by the team behind PlayUp to incentivize their existing sports community and gaming ecosystem. PlayChip has the vision to become the universal gaming token for sports betting, gaming, fantasy sports, and eSports. The token is connected to an already operating business with over 1 million users on 7 platforms in 70 countries.

PlayChip plans to disrupt the unregulated gambling industry (said to be worth $3T) through fairness, transparency, ease of use and lower fees. Currently, PlayChip is a reward token on PlayUp with a fixed value of $0.01. Players convert the rewards to vouchers with affiliates (which includes Mastercard and Amazon).

PlayChip will be an ERC-20 Ethereum token which will be the exclusive token of the PlayChip ecosystem currently comprising of 7 platforms. The PlayChip Foundation will be responsible for the operations of PlayChip and the technologies alongside namely; the PlayWallet, PlayXchange, and PlayChain. The PlayWallet is the wallet interface (and base) of the PlayChip ecosystem where players hold and use their PlayChip tokens. The PlayXchange is the medium through which PlayChip tokens are converted into fiat and other cryptocurrencies. Direct conversion of PlayChips to fiat and other cryptos is possible within the wallet, making both the PlayChip and cryptocurrency as a whole more accessible to their vast user base and new users to crypto.

Why is a blockchain solution necessary for the platform? What problem would it solve? The first is fast and easy withdrawal with low fees. There is no minimum amount for withdrawal and there is instant access to funds. The blockchain technology also offers transparency, visibility, and security, dispelling any rumors of insider trading or preferential terms for players in the ecosystem. The blockchain also creates a platform for global growth for the ecosystem.

There are a lot of benefits regarding the use of PlayChip. The blockchain use provides increased trust for the gaming platform. PlayChip Foundation can audit transactions and remain compliant with regulatory bodies while maintaining user privacy. Regulatory authorities can monitor the platform to ensure compliance. The accessibility brought by the PlayChip increases global liquidity which leads to larger prize pools and better odds, which in turn increases player participation. (However, changes in PlayChip value will affect the value of winnings). Transaction fees are also reduced based on the removal of the middlemen. There will be KYC/AML to participate in the ecosystem, but it will only be done once to participate on all platforms. Players are also incentivized for social network growth activities like referrals, sharing, bet-posting, gifting and so on.

Now, the moment of truth; the Ethereum scaling problem. Since the token will be an Ethereum token, there is a need to address how it will cope with the slow Ethereum network. The solution created for this is the PlayChain. PlayChain is PlayChip’s own off-chain network to achieve consistency in pricing and odds (across the PlayChip ecosystem), high transaction speed, secure and reliable transactions, and a real-time ledger transaction within the platform to be batch-transferred to the Ethereum blockchain. The blockchain architecture of PlayChip is also being designed in such a way that it will be able to accommodate any blockchain solution that solves Ethereum’s inefficiencies. As technology improves, PlayChip will be developed to match the recent developments or could be migrated.

To tackle market volatility and avoid pumps and dumps, escrows have been implemented on accounts with a contribution of over $50k. Team members, affiliates and advisors are also subject escrows with performance-based release metrics for a minimum period of 12 months. Overall, the PlayChip price would be determined by how much people use the platform and the demand for the token.

The next question then is, how does PlayChip stand out from its competitors especially those in the blockchain space? Quite a lot to say here, but let’s just make the figure below do the talking.

The PlayChip Advantage

Yes, PlayChip is having a token sale but participating in it should be your own decision after further careful research. The token sale has already raise double its soft cap of $10M. The crypto market is currently in a bear trend and it’s a wake-up call for everyone. Buying tokens just for the purpose of selling it later at a hopefully “higher” price is not a wise thing to do. However, if fantasy sports, online sports betting are your thing, then this is a platform (and could also be an opportunity) for you.

P.S. This article is for informative purposes only and not intended as any form of financial advice. Participating in ICOs carries considerable risk. Do Your Own Research. This is just to learn about an innovative project in the crypto world.

Would You Play Fantasy Sports with Cryptocurrency? was originally published in Hacker Noon on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.