Solana’s DeGods NFT Project Acquires Professional Basketball Team

DeGods, the biggest NFT project on the Solana network by market cap, confirmed today that it has acquired one of the basketball teams in Big3, a professional basketball league founded by rapper and actor, Ice Cube.

Earlier this month, Big3 revealed plans to fractionalize team ownership by issuing NFTs for each of the 12 teams in the league. The NFTs will provide holders with several exclusive perks.

Today, DeGods revealed that it has purchased all 25 of the Fire-tier NFT ownership stakes, which are worth $25,000 each, in Killer 3s, one of the 12 teams in Big3.

Since DeGods now hold all of these Fire-tier stakes in Killer 3s, it ultimately has complete control of the team. This makes DeGods the first NFT project to acquire a professional basketball team. 

As part of the deal, Killer 3s will spot the DeGods logo on their game jerseys. Additionally, DeGods’ branding will be incorporated into game scoreboards and broadcasts.

NFT enthusiasts who hold DeGods NFTs will also have access to 500 whitelist spots for a total of 975 Killer 3s Gold-tier NFTs, which are listed for $5,000. This makes it possible for DeGods holders to access these exclusive NFTs before they are launched.

The Gold-tier NFTs offer holders the opportunity to vote on certain team decisions as well as access to game tickets and merchandise.

Following the announcement, Ice Cube pointed out that not every clarified team in the league will take the same approach as the Killer 3s. This means that many of the NFTs will still be available for the wider public to hop on the NFT ownership trend. 

NFTs Market Records Massive Growth

While much of the hype around NFTs appears to have died down compared to last year, the NFTs market is still processing massive transaction volumes.

Earlier this month, the global NFTs market recorded a total trading volume of more than $54 billion. Much of this volume could be tied to the increasing influx of large institutional investors into the space.

The popular Dubai-based airline company, Emirates, revealed that it would be minting and issuing its NFT collection to boost brand experience and business efficiencies.