Tokens Can Revolutionize Fan-Club Relationship, Says HYPE Founder

[Magician]

At first glance, sports and blockchain don’t sound like a likely match. The latter is the corporate world’s favorite technology talking point, and the former usually involves throwing, kicking, or catching a ball of some description.

But behind almost any sport lies a web of technology. Whether it’s betting websites, media channels or the huge array of digital fan sites, there’s money to be made as a technology provider working in the sports industry.

That’s part of the reason Amir Raveh, a serial entrepreneur based in Tel Aviv, founded HYPE Sports Innovation. Composed of more than 40,000 members, HYPE acts as a hub for investors, technology providers, and start-ups operating in the sports industry.

And in March, Raveh’s company launched what is thought to have been the first startup accelerator for companies focused on developing blockchain-based sports technology.

Two months after that program was announced, we caught up with Raveh to learn a little bit more about HYPE, sports technology and how blockchain could be a game-changer for sports teams.

Can you talk a little bit about what HYPE is? How did it come about, and what do you do?

HYPE was established almost five years ago as an organization that promotes innovation and supports entrepreneurs from various sectors. After a short period of time, we realized that HYPE should focus on a topic which is both a great passion of ours as well as a huge business opportunity – Sports Innovation.

Since then, we have been working relentlessly to establish the world’s largest ecosystem for Sports innovation with more than 40K members including Clubs, Brands, Investors, and of course – 10k Startups. In order to leverage our ecosystem to actually promote sports innovation, we have established 12 Accelerators worldwide and lead dozens of Global competitions and events as well as providing innovation services to leading brands.

Why did HYPE decide to launch a blockchain-specific accelerator?

Blockchain, together with AI, is becoming a general purpose technology. It is the core enabler for Web 3.0, the infrastructure of the next generation of online connectedness. As such, blockchain is driving major disruption that creates huge opportunities around sports—a field that is undergoing an innovation “perfect storm.”

What do you see as the strongest possible uses of blockchain and sports-related businesses? It seems like a strange mix!

Blockchain technology is proving to be a critical innovation platform in sports. Its applications range from revolutionizing the secondary ticketing market to rewarding fans for their social media activity, to crowdfunding aspiring athletes.

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