VeChain (VET) Pioneers On-Chain Sports Integration: UFC, Racing, and Beyond

• VeChain’s partnership with UFC is not just a branding move; it’s a leap into the future of sports tech, with the latest UFC gloves containing chips powered by VeChain that provide immutable records.
• The network’s partnership with Gresini Racing allowed the Italian MotoGP team to deploy the first NFT marketplace powered by VeChain’s marketplace-as-a-service.

VeChain has been pushing into the sports world, signing historic partnerships with some of the biggest entities in various sports. While some have dismissed these partnerships as a branding gimmick, VeChain is going beyond the marketing and offering blockchain-powered products that are changing these sports.

One of VeChain’s biggest moves was its partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). The two inked the deal in June 2022, with VeChain becoming the UFC’s first official blockchain partner and gaining access to over 900 million households in 175 countries who watch the sport, as Crypto News Flash reported at the time.

What started as a branding opportunity has expanded, and the UFC is now exploring VeChain’s blockchain network to advance its sports technologies.

VeChain is leading the real-world assets sector in bringing sports brands on-chain.

From UFC to Racing, we are on a mission to create a more immersive experience for sports fans. Here is what we are up to pic.twitter.com/3jP9qpthpo

— vechain (@vechainofficial) April 27, 2024

According to the blockchain network, UFC is now offering new gloves embedded with VeChain-powered technology. It stated:

Our groundbreaking partnership with UFC goes beyond mere branding in the octagon; it’s a leap into the future of sports technology. UFC’s latest fighter gloves feature VeChain-powered NFC chips that provide immutable record usage and ensure fans receive genuine products.

The chip on UFC’s 3EIGHT and 5EIGHT glove line, which debuts in June at UFC 302 in New Jersey, will be scannable via the UFC app and website to prove their authenticity when purchased as memorabilia. This will include the athletes who used them and the fight they were used in.

In his comments, VeChain founder Sunny Lu described the latest offering as a “watershed moment” in the redesign of the blueprint for community engagement. VeChainThor’s application to prove authenticity will showcase to a global audience that blockchain has tangible benefits that can be leveraged today.

He added:

The digital certificate minted on the VechainThor blockchain linked with the glove’s NFC chip will be in the form of a token securely stored, ensuring it is unique, verifiable, and authentic – opening up a world of verified fan memorabilia to relive cherished memories.

VeChain Pioneers On-Chain Sports Integration

In addition to the UFC, VeChain recently announced a new partnership with Gresini Racing, an Italian team that is participating in the MotoGP World Championship as a Ducati satellite team.

As Crypto News Flash reported last month, Gresini became the first enterprise user of VeChain’s marketplace-as-a-service (MaaS).

We're excited to announce our new digital asset tokenization platform – MaaS – is now live with it's first enterprise user – MotoGP champions; Gresini Racing!

MaaS' launch is timely as we look ahead and build tools to onboard a rapidly tokenizing world, with projections of $16… pic.twitter.com/iN5yT1VKC3

— vechain (@vechainofficial) March 27, 2024

The MaaS is a no-code tokenization platform allowing users to issue and trade tokens, including NFTs, and pay for them with debit and credit cards.

“Gresini Racing content will be made available through NFTs and digital collectibles. Contents will feature exclusive experiences and memorabilia, plus new ways to present the exciting heritage of Gresini Racing to MotoGP lovers across the world,” the company stated at the time.

VET trades at $0.03766, losing 2.72% in the past day as trading volume dipped 15% to $59 million.