Socios, the blockchain-based platform that has tokenized many sports franchises worldwide, has partnered with the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers.
In a Monday announcement via blockchain-based sports platform Chiliz, Socios said the Cavaliers’ practice jerseys would prominently feature its logo this upcoming season, scheduled to begin later in the year. The platform also said it was currently in the review and development phase on “fan engagement elements” for the team, potentially referring to tokens or digital collectibles.
“This is the start of an exciting partnership that we believe can eventually lead to greatly enhanced fan engagement for fans of the Cavaliers around the world,” said Socios and Chiliz CEO Alexandre Dreyfus. “Socios.com is fast developing into a global fan engagement powerhouse, where passive fans are being transitioned into real players in the day-to-day activities of their favorite teams.”
Many basketball franchises have already inked partnership deals with Socios. Earlier this month, the firm announced a similar arrangement for branding and a digital presence with the Boston Celtics, while the Philadelphia 76ers joined the fan token platform in June. The partnerships with United States-based sports teams are part of Socios’ expansion into North America, where it plans to open a regional office in the near future.
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The Socios announcement comes as basketball teams in the U.S. and Canada have seemingly moved to bring sports deeper into the crypto space. The Portland Trail Blazers will reportedly have the logo of crypto rewards company StormX on its team jerseys for the next five years, beginning with the upcoming season. The Canadian Elite Basketball League also announced last month it would be allowing players from its seven teams to accept a portion of their salaries in Bitcoin (BTC) starting this season.