The last major Olympic interaction with crypto was when the Dogecoin (DOGE) community funded the Jamaican bobsled team in 2014, enabling them to attend the event in Sochi. Since then cryptocurrencies have grown in popularity, and we’re expecting even more interesting conversations about digital assets at the Olympics. Even though the Winter games are taking place in a country that banned cryptocurrency.
The crypto community was satisfied when the IOC launched Olympic NFT pins, and allowed athletes and fans to compete in a “play-to-earn” game called Olympic Games Jam: Beijing 2022. The gaming app that rewards players with Olympic-themed NFTs, was launched by the IOC and developed by nWay, a blockchain game studio.
Now, China is not a fan of decentralized cryptocurrency, but digital assets took center stage, with tech giant Alibaba launching four NFTs based on the Winter Olympics. Given the Chinese government’s stance on digital assets, Alibaba made it clear to NFT owners that they are “barred” from using these tokens for any “commercial purpose.”
To some people, these tokens are not too different from crypto assets, which has fueled speculation that it’s only a matter of time until the Olympics take place in the Metaverse. By then crypto could become so popular that it returns to China.
Elsewhere, Bitcoin supporters like Olympic bobsledder Johnny Quinn encouraged his fans to buy bitcoin by calling them the “Bitcoin class of 2022,” while sharing a crypto reading list and some strong opinions with his fans:
Also Read: How you can trade bitcoin safely in the UAE
