Explainer: Digital collectibles
A breakdown of the new genre of cricket memorabilia, which allows you to own great moments
ESPNcricinfo staff
24-Oct-2022
Want a souvenir from Yuvraj Singh's 70 off 30 vs Australia from the 2007 T20 World Cup? • Hamish Blair/Getty Images
What is a digital collectible?
Did you ever wait for hours outside the ground after a nets session to get an autograph from your favourite cricketer? Or spend your bonus in an auction for the bat he used in a special innings? Or bought a bunch of chocolate bars hoping you got one from the select few that had a sticker of your hero inside the wrapper? A digital collectible is the same as all these pieces of sports memorabilia, except it is digital and created on blockchain, which makes each one completely unique and non-duplicable. Some of the greatest moments from sport are now being turned into digital collectibles that you can buy and trade online.
Did you ever wait for hours outside the ground after a nets session to get an autograph from your favourite cricketer? Or spend your bonus in an auction for the bat he used in a special innings? Or bought a bunch of chocolate bars hoping you got one from the select few that had a sticker of your hero inside the wrapper? A digital collectible is the same as all these pieces of sports memorabilia, except it is digital and created on blockchain, which makes each one completely unique and non-duplicable. Some of the greatest moments from sport are now being turned into digital collectibles that you can buy and trade online.
So what does a digital collectible actually look like?
There are various types of digital collectibles, but the ones currently most popular in sport are videos of specific moments from sporting history turned into collectibles. FanCraze, ESPNcricinfo's digital collectibles partner, currently sell 3D cards that contain a video of the moment along with a photo from it. Digital player cards, which include images and player stats, are also a popular form of digital collectible in sport
There are various types of digital collectibles, but the ones currently most popular in sport are videos of specific moments from sporting history turned into collectibles. FanCraze, ESPNcricinfo's digital collectibles partner, currently sell 3D cards that contain a video of the moment along with a photo from it. Digital player cards, which include images and player stats, are also a popular form of digital collectible in sport
Wait, so why am I paying for what is basically a video that everyone can see for free?
What you are buying is not the video but the right to say you own an actual part of that sporting moment. It's similar to why people pay seven-figure dollar sums for rare sports player cards. The intrinsic value of the card may be zero, but its scarcity is what gives it value. Why do thousands of people buy official prints of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre when they can print it out for free from the web? Because the prints at the Louvre are limited and therefore more valuable. And with digital collectibles, there is the added value of them being non-duplicable.
What you are buying is not the video but the right to say you own an actual part of that sporting moment. It's similar to why people pay seven-figure dollar sums for rare sports player cards. The intrinsic value of the card may be zero, but its scarcity is what gives it value. Why do thousands of people buy official prints of the Mona Lisa from the Louvre when they can print it out for free from the web? Because the prints at the Louvre are limited and therefore more valuable. And with digital collectibles, there is the added value of them being non-duplicable.
What do you mean they are non-duplicable?
Digital collectibles are sold in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which means when you buy one, you can always prove their uniqueness. Let's say you wanted to somehow own a piece of MS Dhoni's winning six from the 2011 World Cup. If you bought a limited-edition signed poster of the moment, there is no guarantee that more copies of the posters will not be produced, thus making yours less valuable.
Digital collectibles are sold in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which means when you buy one, you can always prove their uniqueness. Let's say you wanted to somehow own a piece of MS Dhoni's winning six from the 2011 World Cup. If you bought a limited-edition signed poster of the moment, there is no guarantee that more copies of the posters will not be produced, thus making yours less valuable.
Now, if you bought a digital collectible of Dhoni's winning six, first you could buy it from a source that actually has a claim over the moment, such as the ICC or Dhoni himself. When you buy the collectible, you would know at the start exactly how many copies of that collectible are going to be produced. You would also have a unique serial number. If you were lucky enough to get No.1, you could forever say you have the first copy of Dhoni's winning six, and that would be something you could prove. No one could produce more copies of that collectible without the consensus of the people who already own it.
So what's currently happening in the cricket digital collectibles space?
Digital collectibles only came to the cricket world recently. Fancraze is the market leader in digital cricket collectibles - the official digital collectibles partner of the ICC, the Asian Cricket Council, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ashwin Russell and several other cricketers.
Digital collectibles only came to the cricket world recently. Fancraze is the market leader in digital cricket collectibles - the official digital collectibles partner of the ICC, the Asian Cricket Council, Delhi Capitals, Chennai Super Kings, Cricket South Africa, Cricket West Indies, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ashwin Russell and several other cricketers.
So what is the actual value of a digital collectible?
The value is three-fold: as a collectible, as something that can be traded for financial gain, and as something that has potential utility in the real world. Let's unpack this:
The value is three-fold: as a collectible, as something that can be traded for financial gain, and as something that has potential utility in the real world. Let's unpack this:
A collection the world can see
If you own a cricket digital collectible, you own a piece of cricket history and can publicise that immediately online - when you post the collectible on social media, platforms can immediately verify that you are the actual owner of the collectible and certify that. It's the equivalent of a blue tick. When you own a physical collectible, such as a player card, you have to wait to show it to people individually, but with a digital one, your entire social network can know about it immediately.
If you own a cricket digital collectible, you own a piece of cricket history and can publicise that immediately online - when you post the collectible on social media, platforms can immediately verify that you are the actual owner of the collectible and certify that. It's the equivalent of a blue tick. When you own a physical collectible, such as a player card, you have to wait to show it to people individually, but with a digital one, your entire social network can know about it immediately.
The collectibles marketplace
Once you own a collectible, you can trade it. FanCraze has a marketplace where you can set your own price and solicit bids and offers from other collectors. The sports collectibles market is estimated at US$5.4bn according to Nasdaq with the digital collectibles market the fastest growing segment in it. Deloitte's projections were that sports digital collectibles would generate more than US$2bn in transactions in 2022, with more than 4 million sports fans either purchasing or being gifted one.
Once you own a collectible, you can trade it. FanCraze has a marketplace where you can set your own price and solicit bids and offers from other collectors. The sports collectibles market is estimated at US$5.4bn according to Nasdaq with the digital collectibles market the fastest growing segment in it. Deloitte's projections were that sports digital collectibles would generate more than US$2bn in transactions in 2022, with more than 4 million sports fans either purchasing or being gifted one.
A number of sports fans are looking at digital collectibles as exciting investment opportunities because they can use their own knowledge of sport to buy collectibles they think will gain in value - they may spot a young athlete with potential and buy some of his collectibles in the belief he will become a superstar, or collect a moment they think will be remembered many years hence.
Use in gaming
One way platforms are lending digital collectibles utility is through gaming, and FanCraze is leading the front here - they have multiple games on their platform in which players can use the digital collectibles they own to gain points and win cash prizes. You can also buy special flash collectibles just for the games.
One way platforms are lending digital collectibles utility is through gaming, and FanCraze is leading the front here - they have multiple games on their platform in which players can use the digital collectibles they own to gain points and win cash prizes. You can also buy special flash collectibles just for the games.
Real-world use
Owners of digital collectibles are being offered several real-world benefits too, such as tickets to games, rare hospitality experiences at major events, access to private training sessions and meetings with their favourite stars.
Owners of digital collectibles are being offered several real-world benefits too, such as tickets to games, rare hospitality experiences at major events, access to private training sessions and meetings with their favourite stars.
So I could actually meet Rohit Sharma by owning a digital collectibles?
One of the chief drivers of the sports digital collectibles market is the opportunity to connect athletes directly with fans. Currently, when you buy a ticket to a match or subscribe to watch it online or on television, your money is going to a cricket board or a rights holder, not directly to the cricketers, who are the ones you are actually paying to watch. When you buy a digital collectible related to a player, part of the amount goes to that player, and you form a connection with them. If Rohit Sharma decides to host a private party for his biggest fans, it's likely the people who own several of his collectibles will be the first invited.
One of the chief drivers of the sports digital collectibles market is the opportunity to connect athletes directly with fans. Currently, when you buy a ticket to a match or subscribe to watch it online or on television, your money is going to a cricket board or a rights holder, not directly to the cricketers, who are the ones you are actually paying to watch. When you buy a digital collectible related to a player, part of the amount goes to that player, and you form a connection with them. If Rohit Sharma decides to host a private party for his biggest fans, it's likely the people who own several of his collectibles will be the first invited.
So how do I buy these collectibles on FanCraze?
Okay, so let's introduce you to the concept of a pack and a pack drop. When you buy digital collectibles from FanCraze, you buy them in a pack, and part of the fun is that the contents of your pack are only revealed after the drop. Each pack has a fixed number of digital collectibles. There is a pool of collectibles that are announced before the pack drop date, so you know which moments you could end up with. You then join the queue to buy the pack - you are allotted a random number in the queue (it's not first-come-first-serve) and only a certain number of people, depending on how many packs are being sold, will end up being able to purchase one. Once you've bought a pack, the fun begins. After a stipulated amount of time, you open the pack and find out which moments you've got.
Okay, so let's introduce you to the concept of a pack and a pack drop. When you buy digital collectibles from FanCraze, you buy them in a pack, and part of the fun is that the contents of your pack are only revealed after the drop. Each pack has a fixed number of digital collectibles. There is a pool of collectibles that are announced before the pack drop date, so you know which moments you could end up with. You then join the queue to buy the pack - you are allotted a random number in the queue (it's not first-come-first-serve) and only a certain number of people, depending on how many packs are being sold, will end up being able to purchase one. Once you've bought a pack, the fun begins. After a stipulated amount of time, you open the pack and find out which moments you've got.
So could I end up with four iconic moments?
FanCraze has divided the moments minted into collectibles into four categories: common, rare, epic and legendary. As a reference point, here are examples of moments from each category:
FanCraze has divided the moments minted into collectibles into four categories: common, rare, epic and legendary. As a reference point, here are examples of moments from each category:
- Legendary: A pulled Sachin Tendulkar four from his fifty against Pakistan in the 1992 ODI World Cup
- Epic: A Yuvraj Singh six onto the roof from his fifty against Australia in the 2007 T20 World Cup
- Rare: A Rishabh Pant four from his innings against England in the 2019 ODI World Cup
- Common: A Virat Kohli four from his fifty against Pakistan at the 2021 T20 World Cup
Okay, so the category of the collectible depends on the significance of the moment?
Partly, but the key thing is how many copies of the collectible are produced. For legendary moments just 25 copies are produced, for epic it's between 150 and 300, for rare moments it's between 500 and 1000 and for common moments there can be up to 2000 copies. Since the value of collectibles are decided by demand and scarcity, the less copies there are of one, the more valuable it is.
Partly, but the key thing is how many copies of the collectible are produced. For legendary moments just 25 copies are produced, for epic it's between 150 and 300, for rare moments it's between 500 and 1000 and for common moments there can be up to 2000 copies. Since the value of collectibles are decided by demand and scarcity, the less copies there are of one, the more valuable it is.
So how else do I know the value of the collectible I get?
FanCraze also rates their collectibles by NFT quality and player quality, so the higher the rating of the collectible you have, the more valuable it is. This will also affect the points you can score in games. Apart from this, the serial number of your collectible also makes a difference to its value. Say there are 500 copies being made of a collectible, serial numbers 1 to 100 are going to be more valuable than serial numbers 300 to 500. Once you get fully immersed in the collectible world, you will find a community of whales - buyers with large collections - who discuss the value of collectibles in blogs and videos.
FanCraze also rates their collectibles by NFT quality and player quality, so the higher the rating of the collectible you have, the more valuable it is. This will also affect the points you can score in games. Apart from this, the serial number of your collectible also makes a difference to its value. Say there are 500 copies being made of a collectible, serial numbers 1 to 100 are going to be more valuable than serial numbers 300 to 500. Once you get fully immersed in the collectible world, you will find a community of whales - buyers with large collections - who discuss the value of collectibles in blogs and videos.
Okay, so back to the packs. How do I know what I may get?
When a pack drop is announced, the details of how many collectibles and which category will be in each pack are announced. So you will know, for example, that you are getting a max of two epics, a max of two rares and two more collectibles in a pack of six. In some cases, there may be a select number of legendary or epic moments available and only some buyers will end up getting them. It's down to luck which moments you actually end up getting.
When a pack drop is announced, the details of how many collectibles and which category will be in each pack are announced. So you will know, for example, that you are getting a max of two epics, a max of two rares and two more collectibles in a pack of six. In some cases, there may be a select number of legendary or epic moments available and only some buyers will end up getting them. It's down to luck which moments you actually end up getting.
So what packs are currently available?
For this World Cup, for the first time, FanCraze are pre-selling packs from live games. Before each match of the tournament, you can buy a Crictos of the Game pack, which will contain a set number of moments from each match. After the match, the Crictos of the Game - the best moments from the match - will be selected and, if you have bought a pack, within a few hours you will be able to open the pack and see which moment/moments you have got.
For this World Cup, for the first time, FanCraze are pre-selling packs from live games. Before each match of the tournament, you can buy a Crictos of the Game pack, which will contain a set number of moments from each match. After the match, the Crictos of the Game - the best moments from the match - will be selected and, if you have bought a pack, within a few hours you will be able to open the pack and see which moment/moments you have got.
Oh, so I am basically buying a pack sort of blind?
The exciting thing about pre-buying packs is that you could end up picking the right match and getting some truly iconic moments. Again, a large part of the fun of buying sports collectibles is that you are using your own knowledge of sport to decipher which packs might be most valuable. Say, for example, you have looked at a particular game and think it could be a really close and memorable one - you pre-buy the Crictos of the Game for that match and could end up with a last-over winning moment.
The exciting thing about pre-buying packs is that you could end up picking the right match and getting some truly iconic moments. Again, a large part of the fun of buying sports collectibles is that you are using your own knowledge of sport to decipher which packs might be most valuable. Say, for example, you have looked at a particular game and think it could be a really close and memorable one - you pre-buy the Crictos of the Game for that match and could end up with a last-over winning moment.
Are pack drops the only way to buy a collectible on FanCraze?
No. FanCraze also has a marketplace where owners put their collectibles up for sale and other collectors can make bids for them. In the marketplace, you can search for collectibles by player, team or tournament, so you can look for specific moments that you'd like to own.
No. FanCraze also has a marketplace where owners put their collectibles up for sale and other collectors can make bids for them. In the marketplace, you can search for collectibles by player, team or tournament, so you can look for specific moments that you'd like to own.
FanCraze says they are building the cricket metaverse. What is that anyway? It all sounds really futuristic…
Right, so the metaverse is basically a collection of the virtual-reality and computer-generated worlds that currently exist. So when you buy a car in your favourite computer racing game, you own something that's part of the metaverse. The metaverse is being built quickly, and since we are already accustomed to having a majority of our social interactions in the digital space, it could take less acclimitisation than seems apparent for us to get used to owning and consuming products that exist purely in the virtual world too. In a world where we may live in virtual homes, hang up original digital artworks on our digital walls and decorate our homes with digital curious, owning a collection of digital sports moments could be akin to having a personal trophy room.
Right, so the metaverse is basically a collection of the virtual-reality and computer-generated worlds that currently exist. So when you buy a car in your favourite computer racing game, you own something that's part of the metaverse. The metaverse is being built quickly, and since we are already accustomed to having a majority of our social interactions in the digital space, it could take less acclimitisation than seems apparent for us to get used to owning and consuming products that exist purely in the virtual world too. In a world where we may live in virtual homes, hang up original digital artworks on our digital walls and decorate our homes with digital curious, owning a collection of digital sports moments could be akin to having a personal trophy room.