How Did A LeBron James Video Highlight Sell For $71,455? A Look At A Burgeoning Product Called NBA Top Shot.
TOPLINE
In yet another sign of the upward ascendancy of both the sports card and digital collectibles markets, three limited-edition NBA highlight video cards have sold for more than $30,000 over the past 10 days on NBA Top Shot, a blockchain-based platform that allows fans to buy, sell and trade numbered versions of specific video highlights.
KEY FACTS
NBA Top Shot is a joint venture, started in July 2019, between the National Basketball Association, the NBA Players Association and Dapper Labs, which is best known as the creator of CryptoKitties, long considered the world's most popular blockchain-based game.
According to Dapper Labs Chief Executive Officer Roham Gharegozlou, NBA Top Shots, which are the video versions of highlight moments, are sold in limited edition packs (for between $9 and $230, depending on the quality of the highlight and the player) and only sold for a limited time.
After packs sell out, the only way to acquire NBA Top Shots is on the peer-to-peer marketplace.
Once purchased, those highlights go into a buyer's encrypted, secure highlight wallet.
Each individual NBA Top Shot video card has value due to its authenticity and scarcity being secured by a blockchain called Flow.
Since its launch, the company has reportedlyregistered nearly $20 million in sales ($6 million from packs and $14 million on its secondary marketplace) with upwards of $1.5 million in trading volume in January alone.