Summary:
- The incubator dubbed Chiliz Labs will support early-stage web3 sports and entertainment projects that build on the company’s layer 1 blockchain launched in February.
- Investment company Jump Crypto backs the $50 million incubator initiative, per an official announcement on Wednesday.
- The company’s new Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible blockchain will expose builders and developers to crypto’s largest altcoin and DeFi network.
Blockchain-powered fan token company Chiliz unveiled plans for a $50 million incubator initiative to invest in early-stage web3 startups focused on sports and entertainment. The program is dubbed Chiliz Labs and will support projects that choose to build on the company’s EVM-compatible layer 1 blockchain.
Per the official announcement on Wednesday, Jump Crypto will back the incubator program. Jump Crypto operates as the investment division of Jump Trading, a Chicago-located market maker and trading company. Jump Crypto will offer “strategic guidance and funding” to support projects in the incubator.
President of Jump Crypto, Kanav Kariya, noted that the fan token platform is re-inventing sports fanship and bridging the entertainment industry with blockchain technology. Kariya opined that the web3 ecosystem is capable of closening gaps between sports fans and the team they support.
The fan token startup promised to reveal its first set of partners and projects shortly. Reports say the company will name about eight to 10 startups that are building on the layer 1 blockchain.
Chiliz is changing the way we think about what it means to be a fan of a sports team, and we are extremely excited to support Chiliz Labs to leverage Web3 technology to bring teams and their fans closer together. We will be continuing to work closely with Chiliz to bring our blockchain and crypto expertise to the Sports and entertainment industries, helping to deliver community events such as hackathons.
Chiliz and Socios.com CEO Alexandre Dreyfus added that the company hopes to build a digital ecosystem powered by fan experiences and transactions where fan tokens offer access across products and solutions.
The price of CHZ spiked as high as 8% after the news was released on Mar. 1.
Chiliz Launches EVM Layer 1 Blockchain
The blockchain fan interaction company debuted its Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible layer 1 network in early February 2023. As previously reported, the network uses a Proof-of-Stake-Authority (PoSA) consensus model.
Thanks to featuring EVM compatibility, developers on the Chiliz network will be able to broadcast smart contract codes on Ethereum’s network and tap into decentralized solutions on crypto’s second-largest blockchain.