Opinion: Dima Saksonov, Founder and CEO of Atleta Network
The sports industry has become an important distribution channel for blockchain to reach the mainstream. Major leagues, clubs, and venues are operating verifiable ticketing, identity, and rights management systems, which serve as critical infrastructure at the stadium level.
This shift has made sports organizations decisive buyers in driving the integration of blockchain into the everyday fan experience.
In the early cycle, cryptocurrencies attempted to gain visibility through shortcuts, while the sports industry, eager to explore new revenue sources, was the first to embrace this new financial model. Naming rights deals have seen exchange logos appear in NBA arenas, and cryptocurrency sponsorships have reached a national scale in the sports sector.
While this has increased brand awareness for cryptocurrencies, the focus has remained on visibility rather than embedding real value into the sports ecosystem. Since the last cycle, subsequent actions have shifted towards operational agendas that include preventing ticket fraud, verifiable player data, smarter fan interactions, and transparent contracts.
The sports industry relies on operational efficiency. In this cycle, the supply side has finally caught up: blockchain teams are delivering practically applicable ticketing, identity, and settlement modules. The most feasible path is to achieve integration on a single, dedicated network, allowing clubs to standardize across different venues and partners. This enables leagues to ultimately integrate these systems into venue operations, opening new revenue channels through transparent and tamper-proof technology, and deepening fan engagement.
Blockchain-based ticketing systems curb fraud and enforce secondary market rules; verifiable on-chain data provides transparent athlete metrics for scouts and virtual competitions; smart contracts automate multi-party agreements, such as sponsorship and endorsement collaborations. Analysts predict that by 2024, the market size of blockchain in the sports industry will be approximately $2.05 billion, growing to $10 billion by 2035.
Closed and single-use products cannot meet the needs of leagues. Leagues need to establish a standardized settlement layer to unify policy interfaces, fee models, and observation systems. A network optimized for sports allows fans to use official team applications with just one account, while clubs connect to the same compliant infrastructure for ticketing, loyalty, and payment functions.
The result is a unified loyalty identity anchored to a single network and recognized by all participating leagues and clubs. Digital collectibles and benefits are concentrated in one wallet and one marketplace, enhancing liquidity, data integrity, support capabilities, and user trust.
Core application scenarios—ticketing, data traceability, loyalty, and rights management—are already clear, but there is currently a lack of sufficiently robust prototypes on-site. This gap highlights the urgent demand for production-grade modules that have undergone privacy and compliance audits.
Governance and integrity processes are also advancing. The blockchain architecture can enhance the information integrity used in doping tests and qualification certifications, ensuring that the audit process is tamper-proof and can facilitate access control across organizations. In practical terms, this means that the athlete data hosting process is more transparent, and the qualification review speed for large event staff is faster.
Fans do not need to learn new tools. A secure mobile ticket can smoothly pass through the turnstile, and a digital collectible can be used for seat upgrades or participating in club proposal voting—these operations are very familiar to fans, just with more advanced underlying technology. Currently, for fans, the underlying connection has "disappeared." Fans simply need to open an email, present a QR code, and enter through the turnstile, just like a regular ticket.
You do not need to understand how QR codes work, nor do you need to know that the email itself uses a different protocol, to easily use all three layers of service. Blockchain operates silently in the background, while the user experience remains familiar. The essential insight is that the product-market fit is reflected in those repeatable embedded interactions.
As technology continues to improve, user experience has also been greatly enhanced. Sports events ignite enthusiasm among fans of all ages and regions, with an influence far exceeding that of typical cryptocurrency user profiles. When secure mobile tickets, verifiable collectibles, and loyalty mechanisms are embedded in official team applications, blockchain acts like an invisible track, functioning within the existing life scenarios of users. From scanning to enter, to seat upgrades, and post-game rewards, these routine operations gradually evolve into weekly recurring on-chain interactions, continuously building user familiarity.
The sports industry is shifting budgets from high-profile sponsorships to multi-year software and settlement contracts covering every aspect of game day (such as ticket issuance, access control, points accumulation, and rights accounting).
Vendors that can demonstrate a significant reduction in ticket fraud, predictable secondary market royalties, and faster performance incentive payment logic will win league-wide agreements. Procurement will lean towards a single network integrated with existing fan databases and stadium turnstiles, hiding wallet complexity within official applications and providing auditable data to regulators on demand.
This redefines how to judge a "winning" chain. The throughput of venue scale is crucial within tight time windows; think of the hundreds of thousands of scans at kickoff, and the privacy guarantees through data protection audits. A universal settlement layer reduces risk while simplifying vendor management.
The stack must be modular on a single chain: pluggable data availability, configurable permissions, and recognized verifiable credential standards within the network, without fracturing the fan journey. Ultimately, the winning solution will deliver on three core promises: transparency, automation, and verifiable settlement.
Sports is no longer just a marketing tool for cryptocurrencies; it is a testing ground where blockchain becomes an indispensable infrastructure. Fans are already interacting with this technology when purchasing tickets, voting on team decisions, or trading verified digital collectibles, often without even realizing it.
The next phase of adoption is driven by practical victories that make venues safer, settlements clearer, and fan journeys smoother—this cross-season accumulation of incremental benefits.
A chain that wins a place in stadium infrastructure has won a path into the lives of mainstream consumers.
Author of the opinion: Dima Saksonov, Founder and CEO of Atleta Network.
Related: Opinion: Fintech Companies and New Banks Drive Stablecoin Adoption into a New Era
Original: “Blockchain Has Secured a Place as Core Infrastructure in the Sports Field”
免责声明：本文章仅代表作者个人观点，不代表本平台的立场和观点。本文章仅供信息分享，不构成对任何人的任何投资建议。用户与作者之间的任何争议，与本平台无关。如网页中刊载的文章或图片涉及侵权，请提供相关的权利证明和身份证明发送邮件到support@aicoin.com，本平台相关工作人员将会进行核查。
