This past weekend, I went on an adventure. For the first time since I began my journey into the cryptocurrency world in December of 2017, I participated in a Bitcoin/Cryptocurrency conference bigger than just a few dozen people at a networking event.
I hopped on a train and headed north to Chicago for the Voice of Blockchain Conference, their first ever event. Held at the Navy Pier, the two-day event brought together hundreds of experts, enthusiasts, companies, and interested amateurs, which I would consider myself to be, together.
I didn’t expect to run into anything sports related during my 6-7 hours there, but I should have. Sports and sports-related activities like betting are a perfect fit for the blockchain, and should be part of any general discussion about the various uses of cryptocurrencies.
I had lengthy discussions with two companies in attendance who I had never heard of before that base their platform around sports in one way or another. I’d like to introduce you to Protoblock and Ryan Coin.
Protoblock
Fantasy sports are here to stay on the blockchain, but we have yet to see any have the same impact that non-blockchain-based giants in the space like FanDuel and DraftKings have had.
I met the team of Protoblock, a decentralized fantasy football community that differentiates itself in two distinct ways from existing fantasy games.
1. Hedging
Believe a player is going to bomb this week? You can hedge their expected fantasy point projections to win tokens,
2. Bet on Individual Players
With Protoblock, you don’t need to create a team. Instead, you predict how many fantasy points each player will earn during that week.
Winners receive FantasyBits for their predictions. As a fantasy player obsessed with making predictions, this type of game is a strong fit for me personally, and I plan to give it a shot. I setup an account and was given 1,000 free token by Jay Berg, the CEO.
I do believe that these projects are very hard to scale, and while active, the test base appears to be small. Jay Berg came across as passionate and knowledgable, and I do expect fantasy sports to continue to grow in general, and especially on the blockchain. To check it out, visit protoblock.com.
Ryu Coin
Pronounced (ree-you), Ryu Coin is a straightforward addition to the eSports betting world, utilizing the blockchain to allow users to wager on themselves in video games.
There will be a lot of room for growth within niches, especially in spaces like esports, however, I know very little about the actual potential of a coin whose focus is betting on yourself. The company is working on developing their platform and preparing for a token sale which will take place in Q4 of this year.
The team isn't only targeting esports and wants to keep their coin open to all types of games. I spoke to them about sports games like Madden football, and this is an area they certainly want to pursue.
What do you think of both projects? Please comment below.
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