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Popular sports betting company DraftKings has taken a step further into the world of cryptocurrencies and blockchain by becoming a full validator for Polygon Network, an Ethereum-based scaling platform. The firm, whose market capitalization currently stands at $20 billion, announced that scalability remains a challenge in the blockchain space, noting that they aim to set the ground running for the DraftKings marketplace — an ecosystem that focuses specifically on NFTs. To become a validator, the betting giant will launch a node on the Polygon Network to enhance the verification of transitions using a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus protocol.
DraftKings and Its Validator Status
Paul Liberman, co-founder and president of global product and technology at DraftKings, in a statement, said,
“Scalability and sustainability remain among the critical challenges of blockchain technology, so as we lay the groundwork today for the vision of DraftKings Marketplace tomorrow, the vast insights and proven products from Polygon around scalable solutions are invaluable.”
Through this collaboration, DraftKings will have the option of contributing to Polygon’s governance. This means the betting firm, being a token holder, will have a say in implementing changes to the network after staking their tokens on the platform. DraftKings, in August this year, collaborated with the Tom Brady-backed NFT marketplace Autograph to roll out the Preseason Access Collection, a marketplace for NFT collectibles from famous athletes. Some of these athletes include Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and U.S. gymnast Simone Biles. The marketplace debut came as trades in blockchain-registered images soared, making NFTs more attractive to retail traders.
DraftKings’ NFT
As sports companies and athletes are more interested in the NFT markets than ever before, DraftKings, backed by over 5.5 million users, is ready to tap the potentials of this market. According to DraftKings’ president, Matt Kalish, turning that audience onto NFTs and keeping them engaged was a key focus of the marketplace launch.
“Whether someone is well-versed or barely familiar with digital collectibles, we envision DraftKings Marketplace being a premier platform for all within a trend that is decidedly here to stay.”
As issues of stability and increased transaction fees continue to trail the Ethereum blockchain, decentralized applications (dApps) development are now shifting attention to alternatives with more scalable solutions and lesser transaction fees. Some of these solutions include Algorand, Solana, Cardano, and Polygon.