World Table Tennis (WTT) recently announced the first-ever officially licensed table tennis Non-Fungible Token (NFT) to go on sale to celebrate the opening of the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals in Houston, Texas.
This is the first time America is hosting the World Table Tennis Championships. Entitled ‘First Ball!’, the exclusive NFT is a digital artwork celebrating both this historical moment and table tennis.
The video clip showcases a table tennis ball ornated with the 2021 World Table Tennis Championships Finals logo and the USA flag’s colours in the background.
Discover ‘First Ball!’, the first officially licensed table tennis NFT!
This unique table tennis NFT is up for auction on OpenSea, the world’s first and largest digital marketplace for crypto collectibles and NFTs. Bidding will be open for the duration of the World Championships, until 23:59 (CST, UTC−06:00) on Monday 29 November.
The reserve price has been set to WETH 0.2021, in honour of the 2021 World Championships. WETH (Wrapped ETH) is used to buy and sell with auctions on OpenSea. It is worth exactly the same amount as ETH, the native cryptocurrency of the Ethereum platform, a decentralized and open-source blockchain with smart contract functionality.
From 23 to 29 November, the world’s best players will face each other with a revamped and expanded straight knockout format. Fans should be on the lookout not only for the incredible table tennis actions but also for the exclusive NFTs which will be announced by WTT throughout the competition.
This year’s championships are of even greater significance for the Table Tennis community when the 2020 event in Busan, Korea, was cancelled because of COVID-19.
As the commercial and events arm of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), WTT aims to transform how the sport is played and absorbed throughout the world while providing the fans of the sport with innovative technology and new experiences which will build further the interest and awareness of table tennis. Ever since its launch, WTT has been leading the table tennis digital transformation and opening up additional revenue streams for table tennis.
The launch of officially licensed table tennis NFTs is another milestone in the journey to make the sport one of the most recognized and followed in the world. WTT is planning to launch its own marketplace in 2022 where fans and collectors will be able to buy, sell, and trade table tennis NFTs.
Next week, the world’s best players will face each other at Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center