Fieracavalli NFTs make their debut at Veronafiere
Can a real experience at a trade fair become a unique digital item guaranteed by the blockchain that cannot be replicated? The answer is yes and it happened at Veronafiere where NFTs made their debut for the first time.
The occasion was Fieracavalli – the oldest event in the Veronafiere portfolio – which launched its non-fungible cryptographic tokens which enthusiasts can use to follow the Longines FEI Show Jumping World CupTM in Verona while at the same time becoming collectors of digital memories. Such as? They range from the competition ring designed by chef de piste Uliano Vezzani in jpg format, to videos of warm-ups in the test rings or the image of a particularly spectacular jump in terms of technique and execution, as well as the exclusive interview with the winner of the Verona leg of the World Cup.
But what exactly are NFTs? They are digital certificates of authenticity that become unique thanks to validation obtained by using the blockchain. They are already widely used in the art world (Christie’s sold a work that exists only in digital jpg format for $69.3 million) and sports, where the largest collection of NFTs in terms of market value is the NBA Top Shots set, video highlights of basketball games certified by the NBA League – its trade volume came to more than $200 million in the last month alone.
The NFTs issued by Fieracavalli can be obtained with cryptocurrency or credit card and saved in a digital wallet.
The solution, developed in collaboration with EY, makes it possible to create NFTs on the Polygon blockchain through the proprietary EY OpsChain platform and then associate them with different metadata linked to exclusive experiences which only the owner-visitor will be able to access.
“The digital experience we have gained over the last few years is part of Veronafiere’s core business and has become a connection and participation tool in its own right that supports and strengthens all our activities,” said Giovanni Mantovani, CEO of Veronafiere. Operators and visitors who attend our events are by now used to highly versatile formats, with a mix of services and multi-channels that amplify content and contacts. The debut of NFTs at Fieracavalli is a further step forward that helps us fully understand how online and virtual are not competitors but allies that can complete and expand the potential of the conventional exhibition offering of attended events.”
Non-fungible tokens are also protagonists of the “Verona Auction” horse auction held during Fieracavalli, with a virtual marketplace where NFTs of real horses are auctioned at the same time as the physical event.
The revolution that the event in Verona has implemented in the world of horses now also targets the biggest trend of the moment which is changing the world of digital entertainment. Fieracavalli also saw the first equestrian metaverse presented by Scuderia 1918, created in collaboration with The Nemesis, where virtual riders can challenge each other in timed competitions to earn NFT as well as physical prizes.