This NFT Platform Is Betting On India's Cricket Frenzy Fandom in cricket is about to undergo a change in the next few years with the entrance of NFTs in the market, and Rario, the world's first officially licensed cricket NFT platform seems to be steering us in that direction. Rario was founded in 2021 by Ankit Wadhwa and Sunny Bhanot.
By Kabir Singh Bhandari •
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Fandom in cricket is about to undergo a change in the next few years with the entrance of NFTs in the market, and Rario, the world's first officially licensed cricket NFT platform seems to be steering us in that direction.
Rario is a digital collectible platform for cricket fans to collect and trade officially licensed cricket moments on the blockchain, represented as a non-fungible token (NFT). With Polygon Studios and Animoca as partners, Rario is built on the Polygon Network and is backed by investors such as Kingsway Capital and Presight Capital. Their whole motive is to ensure that fans can engage as a community and invest in tangible sporting moments. In other words, fans can own a piece of sport history.
SEE VIDEO: Ankit Wadhwa, Rario CEO on the future of cricket fandom
In April 2022, Rario had announced $120 Million Series A funding round led by Dream Capital. Rario has the largest share of cricket NFT rights globally through exclusive partnerships with six international cricket leagues and over 900 cricketers. "The progress that we've made with the sign ups along with taking the first mover advantage. We entered the arena when most people were unaware of NFTs, but over time investors have realized the importance of this space," said a beaming Ankit Wadhwa, Rario CEO and co-founder in a video interview to us.
Having officially partnered with numerous international cricket leagues such as the Hero Caribbean Premier League, Lanka Premier League,Abu Dhabi T10 League and Legends League Cricket, as well as cricketers such as Rishabh Pant, Zaheer Khan, Smriti Mandhana, Rashid Khan, Shakib Al Hasan and Shafali Verma, they had ventured into the space when it was relatively unknown. "Cricket is a large sport with over 1.5 billion fans, but where cricket has lagged behind a bit is in fan engagement, which is what propelled us in this direction," said Wadhwa explaining their motivation. A silver medallist from IIT Delhi and an MBA degree from Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, Wadhwa has more than 15 years of experience in the e-commerce and technology space. He worked with McKinsey before becoming an entrepreneur.
Rario is Singapore-based and was founded in 2021 by IIT Delhi alumni Wadhwa and Sunny Bhanot, and since 2021, have sold over 50,000 NFTs to sports fans across 20 countries with the USA, UK, Australia, and India as its top four markets.
