Hivemind Capital launches drone racing P2E project on Algorand

Former Citibank executive Matt Zhang launched Hivemind Capital, a $1.5 billion fund, to support the Algorand (ALGO/USD) ecosystem. Zhang and the fund will invest some of that money in a play-to-earn metaverse project on Algorand.

Drone Racing League at core of project

As Forbes reported on January 5, the core of the project will be formed by Drone Racing League. Zhang’s fund will finance it and Playground Labs will develop it. This is the first iteration of game-fi on Algorand.

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The Drone Racing League is a professional league that airs its events on NBC Sports. Events take place at major stadiums across the US. They are an example of transforming esports into real, live sporting competitions, embracing the blockchain and the booming game-fi/metaverse industry.

‘Killer app’ in the works

Algorand and The Drone Racing League are working on a “killer app”, which will bring drone racing mainstream by onboarding millions of users.

The potential of game-fi and P2E

Game-fi and play-to-earn have incredible potential because of how viral the games can go. When you factor in the economic incentive component via crypto, there’s a myriad of opportunities. Last year, Gala Games (GALA/USD) was the most successful crypto project in terms of year-to-date gains.

Forbes wrote:

In the case of DRL’s drone racing game on the Algorand blockchain, the crypto-based, play-to-earn assets could, theoretically at least, be transported out-game through the metaverse, or traded for cryptocurrencies, including Algorand’s own ALGO token.

Drone races watched by 250M households in 140 countries

Last year, DRL TikTok channel had over 2 million followers. DRL has 12 TV partners who broadcast the races to 250 million households in 140 countries. DRL and Algorand entered into a partnership worth more than $100 million in September 2021.

In response to the announcement, DRL President Rachel Jacobson said:

We have to know blockchain because we always want to be 10 steps ahead and first to market. We’re going to be Playground Labs’ crown jewel. We’re building a roadmap of so many different things in the next several years.