Major League Baseball (MLB) has taken a step into the blockchain and
crypto world by launching its own Ethereum-based game, “MLB Crypto,” in
partnership with blockchain dApp developer Lucid Sight, Yahoo Finance has reported.
The official website of MLB Crypto is now live, however, the game is yet to launch. Users
will be able to use their ether to buy digital MLB collectibles, play
games to level up, or earn various rewards. Similar to CryptoKitties,
these collectibles could also be sold via the Ethereum blockchain to
other crypto users. In fact, MLB was in talks with Lucid Sight when
CryptoKitties was launched in November 2017. Kenny Gersh, Executive Vice
President of Gaming and New Business Ventures at MLB, said that the
game proved that MLB Crypto would be successful in “delivering baseball”
to users with the help of blockchain technology.
Not a ‘Get-Rich-Quick Scheme’
Gersh said that they are not entering into the blockchain and crypto
world due to its popularity. Since MLB’s audience attendance has
increasingly dropped this season, they simply want to create a way to
engage and bring back baseball enthusiasts.
In order to achieve that, MLB Crypto will also allow users to collect
products that celebrate and commemorate MLB events. “For me, say the
Red Sox win the division in a couple months, I want to buy something
that symbolizes that. These will be event-based things — those moments
in sports that happen that you want to remember and cherish, and have a
sense that you were there, even if only digitally,” said Gersh.
Gersh also added that some people may accuse them of using a
“get-rich-quick scheme,” but they need to understand that the MLB is
simply transferring their current collectibles to the digital world.
However, this game might seem confusing to people who have never used
the Ethereum blockchain. Octavio Herrera, co-founder of Lucid Sight,
explained that they will develop a simple mobile app to combat this
problem. However, it won’t be launched until after MLB Crypto goes live —
so early users will need to open accounts on a crypto exchange, and buy
and transfer ether to Ethereum dApp browser MetaMask.
The first 100 users that sign up to MLB Crypto will earn one MLB
collectible free of cost. The referral program will also reward early
users with random collectibles on a first-come-first-served basis.
