The mechanics: Beyond owning shares, the platform facilitates direct competition between users based on specific player matchups.
- Daily head-to-head matchups pit specific players against each other, like Jaylen Brown versus Kawhi Leonard.
- Users predict which player will have the best stat line in a winner-take-all format.
- Thompson aims to deepen fan engagement by incentivizing viewers to watch live games to track their investments.
The context: Thompson believes the platform caters to an online culture that wants to monetize its sports knowledge.
- The goal is to give hardcore users and fans a place to show that their knowledge surpasses that of TV analysts and their friends.
- The system uses leaderboards to allow users to “flex” their basketball IQ and prove that they are the “smartest in the room” compared to their peers.
- Thompson argues that modern culture has turned almost everything into competition or a market.
Tristan’s opinion: Beyond the speculation, Thompson sees the platform as a reputation driver for the next generation of sports media personalities.
- He envisions top artists using their verifiable on-chain track record to launch independent livestreams and build a following on social media.
- The goal is to empower creators to become “more popular than the ESPN guys” by proving they are connected to the culture.
Thompson says the drive to compete is innate, but Web3 tools now allow fans to fund it. “Now I think we’re realizing that almost anything can be a form of competition where you can monetize it and create a market where people can make money,” Thompson said.
