Big Fan, Cork (2026)

14/01/2022

Here's the second of our weekly updates when it comes to all things crypto / nfts and sports. These 4 stories stuck out to us from this week. Enjoy.

Fcf football raises 40 Million Dollars and adds 4 new teams.

Fan Controlled Football had its inaugural season last year with 4 teams playing indoor American football across a 6 week tournament. Headed by animoca brands they’ve just raised a further $40M and announced 4 new franchises in the league. Among the new owners is The Bored Ape Yacht Club and the Gutter Cat Gang. Members of these nft brands will be able to play integral parts in their teams success by live voting on play choices , coaches and team clothing among other things.

Pokemon box sold for 3.5 Million Dollars is a fake.

A box of Pokemon trading cards purchased by famed Youtuber Logan Paul for $3.5 Million has been found out to be fake. The box had been authenticated by a professional grader but when opening the box on his channel it was revealed that the cards where instead a comparatively worthless box of GI Joe cards. NFTs are by no means a silver bullet but this is an example of when blockchain based cards / tokens would be advantageous over traditional cards when it comes to verifiability.

Superbowl adds for crypto giants.

Both Crypto.com and FTX have purchased airtime during this year’s Superbowl due to be played in February. Reports are that NBC are charging $6.5M for a 30 second time slot. Even at these incredible prices it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the pair have spent big given they’ve both shelled out over $100M on naming rights for NBA stadiums in recent months as a way to boost customers (LA Lakers stadium for Crypto.com and the Miami Heat stadium for FTX respectively).

Australian Open tennis enters the metaverse.

Ahead of its start later on this month Australian Open tennis have release 6776 NFTs. Each NFT will have a assigned piece (15x15cm) of the AO court that the final of the Australian open will be played on. When a winner is hit and the ball last bounces on your plot the metadata updates and youll be able to receive perks such as a video of the point and exclusive merchandise. Holders will also get the ability to visit ‘Melbourne Park’ in the metaverse which is currently being built in Decentraland. They dropped yesterday (the 13th of January) with a price of 225dollar and the current floor is up to 1000dollars already. This is great example of a historic brand with a rich history using modern technology to increase fan engagement and bring them even closer to the action.

09/01/2022

This is the first of a series of weekly posts aimed at keeping you up to date on news in the crypto and sports related world. We will pick 4 stories each week that we think you all might find interesting. Enjoy 👌🏼

Fanatics buys sports cards producer Topps.

Fanatics bought Topps trading cards for $500M this week hoping to further solidify their position as a giant of the digital and traditional sports card markets. Topps has been around for more than 80 years and have popular digital based platforms / apps such as Topps Kick and Topps Bunt. Fanatics have already branched out into the nft division with their Candy digital brand who have already landed a major partnership with Major League Baseball in the States. Fanatics have previously outlined their intention to avail of the recent sports card boom and the even more recent nft craze. This move further echoes that sentiment.

Golfing based organisation gains instant success.

Links Dao dropped this week with the aim of reimagining the typical country club format for golf course membership. With funds raised from minting they hope to buy real and metaverse based courses for members to play and interact with each other. Owners are being promised the right to buy membership to the club when a course has been purchased (Planned for late 2022). Not only this but they’ll get to reap the rewards of a blockchain based club such as having a say in some of the most important decisions surrounding the growth of the community. They dropped all 9090 nfts and had raised $10.4M just 48 hours after mint !

Former Chelsea Captain John Terry Pairs Up With ‘The Ape Kids Collection’.

Former Chelsea footballer John Terry made his career as a premier center-back for the historic club, as well as England’s national team, and more recently as an assistant coach for club Aston Villa. In December, Terry purchased a Bored Ape, and within the past week Terry doubled down with a new partnership with ‘The Ape Kids Collection.’ The project aims to create NFTs with a roadmap and storyline that appeal to a younger audience, and has donated to youth-based charities and initiatives with project proceeds.

Samsung to implement ‘NFT functions’ with new TV launch.

Samsung electrics announced plans this week to release a series of TVs that will be NFT compatible. This compatibility will allow users to be able to use marketplaces to buy, sell and even display their NFTs all in the same place. Visual displays such as those produced by Nifty and others have been in the market since the 3rd Quarter of 2021 but this marks the first widely recognisable company to offer this type of solution.

21/12/2021

We know this web3.0 stuff can all get a little messy. we taken some time to give some brief explanations of some of the jargon that you’ll here flying around. Further down we’ve put together a more detailed explanation to help improve your understanding. Let us know if you’ve got any questions and enjoy😆🤝

Blockchain: A big public database for all transactions, like a bank statement that can’t be changed.

Smart Contracts: Programs that interact directly with the blockchain with rules for each transaction. Think of putting an order in a vending machine- no human interaction is needed to complete the transaction.

dApps: Think of these as companies that operate on a blockchain.

Cryptocurrency: Coins created from a completion of a block on a blockchain.

Tokens: Tokens are the equivalent of equity / shares in a dApp.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Unique images created from a smart contract. Can be sold on an exchange or in some cases access the Metaverse.

Exchanges: Just like with stocks, there’s exchange where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies, tokens and NFTs.

MetaVerse: Have you played multiplayer games with friends? We already spend most of our working hours online (phone times aside). So in a way we're already living in a warped version of the metaverse. Crytpo makes it better by giving users property rights and interoperable assets. Imagine a real life version of The Simms. You can go here, play games, attend events or even go shopping. NFTs can be exchanged after you leave.

The Basics: If you like the images and short description, keep reading. These are larger definitions with more detail.

Blockchain: A big public database for all transactions, like a bank statement that can’t be changed.

The entire crypto ecosystem is built on blockchain. We like to think of it as a railroad that all crypto moves along. Blockchain was first introduced in Satoshi Nakamado's white paper (think of him as the Godfather who created BitCoin).

A blockchain acts as a distributed ledger. Traditional ledgers record transactions and require mutual understanding between transacting parties. A distributed ledger creates a publicly available ledger that is updated and verified by a node. A node is a computer to keep a history of all transactions. A blockchain contains many distributed nodes, meaning transactions are verified by nodes agreeing which “block” should be added next on the “chain”, eventually forming a blockchain.

The objective is to create a single version of the truth, used by all participants, containing an immutable, transparent, and verified data set. This single version of the truth is the alignment mechanism needed to replace the trust of an intermediary. Blockchains allow individuals to conduct and review transactions on the internet without an intermediary. Each time a chain is completed, a coin is created. Bitcoin was the first blockchain, but there are many like Ethereum, Cardano, and Solana.

Smart Contracts: Programs that interact directly with the blockchain with rules for each transaction. Think of putting an order in a vending machine- no human interaction is needed to complete the transaction.

A smart contract is a coded program that runs on top of a blockchain. These contracts are created to facilitate transactions without the need for human intervention. Users submit transactions through the smart contract, which processes and shares the transaction to the blockchain.

Nodes confirm the transaction and add the record to the blockchain. Smart contracts are pre-written code and cannot be modified once launched. A simple analogy to think of smart contracts is vending machines. Users enter a selection, and the vending machine processes and then disperses. Smart contracts operate the same way, are used in every protocol. A protocol is made up of multiple smart contracts. Ethereum was the first blockchain to allow smart contracts to be built, we’ve chosen Polygon to ensure minimum transaction fees and minimal impact on the environment due to the computing power needed

dApps: Think of these as companies that operate on a blockchain.

These companies work through code, and everything they process is put on the blockchain. That means you or I have complete transparency. dApps range across several industries including: finance, gaming, exchanges, betting, insurance, and several other emerging sectors.

Digital Assets:

How often have you heard the term cryptocurrency and thought of Bitcoin or Ethereum? Have you run into those JPEG images online selling for hundreds of thousands? Or did you hear about a coin like Sushi and have no idea? There are other digital assets besides cryptocurrency. Below, we will briefly describe how they are formed and some examples.

Cryptocurrency: Coins created from a completion of a block on a blockchain.

Cryptocurrencies, such as BTC, ETH, or DOGE, result from a block being created on a blockchain. Each different currency almost always comes from a separate blockchain. Bitcoin is the OG of any cryptocurrency. While the Bitcoin chain is the oldest, more protocols are built on Ethereum. I like to think of Bitcoin as digital gold. The second cryptocurrency to be aware of is ETH. ETH is the coin created by the Ethereum blockchain. The Ethereum blockchain is the most used today and broadly supports the NFT and DeFi industries through smart contracts, although Cardano and other blockchains are quickly growing in popularity to build smart contracts on.

Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): Unique images created from a smart contract. Can be sold on an exchange or in some cases access the Metaverse.

aka NFTs, are non-fungible cryptographic tokens, meaning they are unique. Unlike a $5 bill which can be exchanged for another $5 bill or 1 ETH for another 1 ETH, each NFT contains characteristics that make it non-fungible. NFTs are predominately created from smart contracts. At first, NFTs were mostly digital art. You probably are familiar with cryptopunks (JPEG image of a face). However, they are rapidly growing for different use cases in the crypto world, including:

Identity
Gaming
Art
Music

Let's review two quick examples. The first is Bored Ape Yacht Club. By owning an "ape," members have access to a digital lounge where you can only enter if your NFT matches one of the ape's numbers (remember, NFTs are minted on a blockchain). Another example is in gaming (think Metaverse). Blockchain games create characters that are NFTs. These NFTs can be taken out of a game and sold on an exchange. NFTs are the bridge between the digital and the real world.

Tokens: Tokens are the equivalent of equity / shares in a dApp.

dApps are usually started by a few people who seek to grow a community around their business. As a community grows around the dApp, members will want to help shape the company. In the last 18 months, there are increasing dApps becoming decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). A DAO has no central leadership and is governed by the community with specific rules put on the blockchain. dApps will release governance tokens to members, giving them the ability to vote on decisions. The tokens also are a way for dApps to raise money and help increase participation in the dApp. These are like shares in a company. Some common ones are MATIC, SUSHI, and AAVE.

Bringing this together:

Exchanges: Just like with stocks, there’s exchange where you can buy and sell cryptocurrencies, tokens and NFTs.

Users today can purchase digital assets through either centralized (CEX, like Coinbase and Kraken) or decentralized exchanges (DEX, like SushiSwap and UniSwap. The primary difference between a CEX and DEX is how the transaction occurs. CEXs operate like traditional exchanges from security to consumer protection to regulatory compliance and pricing. DEXs are powered by smart contracts and managed peer-to-peer rather than a central authority. Users of DEXs control their assets, meaning the exchange does not hold custody. When a user makes a transaction on the DEX, a smart contract records the transaction on the chain. DEXs offers an alternative method to exchange digital assets and hold both advantages and disadvantages compared to CEX. Transactions typically require lower fees (for the exchange, not the gas fee), and users retain anonymity. Users control their assets rather than a third party, increasing autonomy and decreasing the likelihood that a DEX will be hacked directly. DEXs offer significantly more digital assets than a CEX. The disadvantage to a DEX is the lack of insurance- if something happens to your asset there is no help line.

MetaVerse: Have you played multiplayer games with friends? Imagine a real life version of The Simms. You can go here, play games, attend events or even go shopping. NFTs can be exchanged after you leave.

How many times did you hear about the Metaverse this year? Between Facebook rebranding and Snoop Dog buying digital land, the Metaverse is hard to ignore. But do you actually know what it is? Think of the SIMs. These are virtual worlds where communities can gather for different purposes. Many join Metaverses for gaming (blockchain games) like Axie Infinity or attend a virtual event in Sandbox. We are still at the very early stages, but imagine in a very short time being able to put on VR goggles to go shopping in a store where you can buy products by purchasing NFTs. Then maybe you want to go see some flying whales and meet friends for a hangout while floating around Snoop Dogs mansion. The possibilities are endless. But NFTs allow for a bridge between any Metaverse and reality. NFTs purchased in a Metaverse can be exchanged on a DEX or CEX for either crypto or regular currency. The digital world and real world are beginning to blend, and this will rapidly evolve in a short time

17/12/2021

2021 was quite the year for BigFan.io, and 2022 is becoming even more thrilling. We spent this year building the technical infrastructure and securing partnerships. Soon, we will be announcing some exciting news! In the meantime, we want to share more about who we are and what we stand for. So here it goes:

BigFan.io partners with your favorite sport and esport teams to create NFTs of players, memorable moments plus much more. Fans can now own a one-of-a-kind piece of their favorite Clubs, Teams and athletes. Fans can easily purchase NFTs on an exchange. Each card is non-fungible, meaning it cannot be copied. It’s one of a kind, just like each fan. But owning an NFT is more than just a JPEG image or a video. It’s an opportunity to own a one-of-a-kind card that acts as a key to the MetaVerse.

BigFan.io Sports World is like the Olympic Park of the Metaverse. We have a prime location within The Sandbox. You will be able to use your NFT to gain admission into our Sports World. Teams will host fan meetups and events but ultimately be able to participate in gaming experiences. BigFan.io provides the platform for your Clubs, Teams and athletes to host concerts, meetup groups and other events for all fans to attend. You can enter any experience in the Metaverse on your devices or by using virtual reality equipment.
Mission Statement:

BigFan.io seeks to bring fans closer together with their Clubs, Teams and athletes through the use of Web3 technology — leveraging blockchain, NFTs, the Metaverse and Utility Tokens to do this. Fans across the world are no longer constrained by physical or monetary boundaries from engaging with their favourite sports.

15/12/2021

Hey everyone,
We wanted to keep you up to date on all things BIGFAN as we build into THE location for sports in the metaverse.

Brands;
We don’t want to over promise and underdeliver so we’re holding back until we can give you all concrete details on drops and what will be on offer. Let’s just say that when we do let you in on who we’ve been interacting , with you’ll be more than a little impressed 😉

Metaverse;
Right now we have the incredibly talented Tuschay Studios working on our BigFan stadium plot in the sandbox. Here, you’ll be able to play games, buy bigfan merchandise and get access to invite only events that we currently have in the works. We understand the potential these metaverse locations have and want to guarantee you all a great experience when you stop by or become holders of our future tokens💪🏼

Team;
We’ve made some huge editions to our own team also of late. This is to help with discord moderation , social media management and ultimately on helping us deliver the very best BigFan we can. We understand that the metaverse and web3.0 can be a little daunting if you are new to it so please don’t be shy , we want to take you with us on our journey as we build BigFan over the next few years🏆

Nativz public sale;
Nativz is a real life esports brand that plays league of legends professionally .We’ve just gone live with our Nativz lifelong membership key. This will your give you early access to our 10,000 token pfp avatar we have in the works along with ;
* One free Airdrop of a Nativz Genesis Series NFT Collectible
* One free Nativz Performance Replica Shirt as worn by the players
* One free PFP avatar and exclusive access to mint up to 3 prior to our public sale (first half of 2022)
You’ll be able to get all of this and be eligible for future rewards down the line as a thank you for being an early supporter for just .1eth or 435euro
We’ve set up steps to getting involved in our discord for both crypto native and the newer people to the space also(below)

As you can tell there’s loads going on with BIGFAN and we can’t wait to meet you all in the metaverse soon🚀

https://discord.gg/pceANK8x-BIGFAN

https://discord.gg/enjWVQSS-NATIVZ

03/12/2021

We know how difficult it can be to filter out the projects that are money grabs from the ones that have real long term goals and commitment to their communities. NFTFC is a project we really like and think it’s worthwhile to let you know what they‘re all about...

The goal is simple ; to support young players financially and create content around their journey of making it as a professional. This could include a whole host of expenses that may deter young talent from going all in such as flights,accommodation,food,equipment and training. The first player being supported is due to be selected in early 2022.

They’ve started minting already and plan to release a maximum of 10,000 tokens. Each token design is unique and there’s a great example of how they look in the post above. They’re also sending 1000 free kits to token holders too. We don’t need to say much on the shirt design in the post graphic do we ? It’s stunning. There is an app being designed currently that’ll make it easy for holders to vote and keep up to date on the players that the group as a whole decide to support. Holders will also be able to buy and sell "player cards" of each player with our native crypto token and take part in a fantasy style game that earns passive income depending on their real life performance. A full list of perks can be seen in their discord below😉.

The OG mint has been a great success and the next wave of drops is currently scheduled for December 15th.
We can attest to the strength of the team behind this exciting project. They’re clearly visible on the website and have a huge appetite to deliver long term value for token holders.

With over 9,000 twitter followers and 12,000 in the public discord it’s clear that our friends at NFT FC have already captured the attention of many crypto and football fans alike.

This is not financial advice on our end but certainly something to think about. The support of young players realising their dreams of going pro is something we’ve always been behind no matter the industry and we hope to be part of this journey down the line at some point.

GM to all and happy minting 😆

28/11/2021

BigFan partners reach the climax of their incredible playoff run tonight when they meet the in a tantalising final.

County have been fantastic this post season. Conceding just 1 goal in 3 playoff games their run of great from has been built upon a staunch defence. Up the other end they’ve managed to keep an incredible 100% record from 6 yards out in penalty shoot outs. Shot stopper Patrick Rakovsky saved 2 last time out alone! OCSC have shown more than a willingness to dig in and grind out vital wins. If anything as the stakes have risen this year so too have their standards. Just one step away from glory now , a chance at history and the clubs FIRST USL title is on the line.

When it comes to their opponents, the Tampa Bay Rowdies have had an equally supreme run so far in the playoffs. They’ve scored 10 goals in 3 games but have also vitally conceded 3 more goals than OCSC in this postseason. Striker and top goal scorer Guenzatti will need to be watched closely. We can assume the Rowdies will look to play an open game if their previous performances are anything to go off. They play an expansive game but we all know how finals can be decided by the finest of margins.

The game takes place on Tampa Bay’s homepatch at 5.30 pacific time. A full house is expected including a large Orange County following. The two teams have NEVER met in the USL championship.

All the way back in May on opening day 31 teams set out to reach this stage. Only two remain and all is left is to grab the coveted USL Championship title.

We are looking forward to this one 🍊🍊🍊

20/11/2021

A huge night is in store in Irvine ,CA tonight.

It’s conference finals night as aim to make history against by making their first final.

Both teams have had a strikingly similar journey so far this year. Both finished 2nd in their respective divisions (SA in the Western Conference Mountian). Both have also had a defence that is also among the very best across the usl as a whole. San Antonio conceded 38 throughout the regular season and only 1 so far during the playoffs scoring 8. Similarly Orange County conceded 37 in the season and have had 3 clean sheets in the row to spark their incredible playoff run. This fact is even more impressive considering the crisis at centre back for the team last time out.

Down the other end San Antonio will primarily look to Santiago Patino as a goal threat. He scored 8 in 13 games during a year that was marred with injury. He’s back now and bagged a brace against RGV Teros last week to signal a return to form. Ronaldo Damus has pace to trouble any backline and will be hoping to get in behind once more to add to his playoff goals total. He was the man with nerves of steel that sent OCSC to this stage in a nail bitter of a penalty shoot out.

The wild celebrations after that game show how much this means to both the team and to the fans alike. At BigFan we’ve had a great time following the team’s progress as they grew more and more into themselves. With only one step remaining until a historic final appearance for OCSC its hard not to be excited.

Kickoff is 7pm local time (PST) and simply can’t be missed 🍊🍊🍊

20/11/2021

At BigFan we are constantly looking for ways to innovate and bring value to users both in the physical and digital world. One such of example is the build we’re working on in The Sandbox. As a partner of ours, we’ve decided to use The Sandbox as a great medium to take virtual soccer and other sports into the Metaverse.

Our architect Tuschay studios, has an unbelievable amount of experience and you’ll know their great work from The Walking Dead plots they designed recently. They’ve been working on bringing together a gaming experience into our stadium thats already been built and we really cant wait to show you all the finished product.

It was great to get a boost recently also from non-other than Coin Bureau’s YouTube page. With over 1.5M subscribers we were crazy excited to get a shoutout and have had some hugely positive feedback since. Take a look at the video yourself by using the link at the bottom of the post.

With such strong partners and relationships in terms of the Sandbox itself, with our talented designers and with good responses from within the industry we feel our vision of becoming THE hub for sports projects within the Metaverse is achievable.

Thanks again .bureau , we hope our paths will cross again soon….

TheSandbox

06/11/2021

The weekend continues for all things Big Fan tonight. After @ esports‘ huge win last night its over to as they play their first game of the uslchampionsdhoip playoffs.

OCSC had an unbelievable run to end the regular season winning 5 from 5 and conceding only 1. They now face in what is effectively the last 16 round. They finished 3rd in the Western Conference Mountain division. They beat RGV Teros 1-0 in their 3rd to last game and it proved vital. From there they drew with last placed Real Monarchs and lost 3-0 to the 2nd placed San Antonio.

Last time the two met the game finished 2-0 to Orange County. That game was played all the way back in July so its hard to imagine it will have much of an impact tonight. In terms of threat, the Switchbacks will look to get golden boot winner Hedji Barry on the ball. He scored 25 in 32 games and will have to be nullified if County are to come out on top.

Orange County had the 3rd best defence in the league while the Colorado had the 3rd best goals scored stats. It’s all set up for an entertaining evening in Irvine.

Kickoff ins 7pm local time 🍊🍊🍊

Big Fan

14/01/2022

09/01/2022

21/12/2021

17/12/2021

15/12/2021

03/12/2021

28/11/2021

20/11/2021

20/11/2021

06/11/2021

Address

Website

Alerts

Shortcuts

Share

Category