Imagine getting paid just to take a walk
That's the idea behind the soon-to-launch platform, sMiles. The app, which is based on Bitcoin’s Lightning Network, will allow users to earn Bitcoin for performing simple everyday activities such as walking, running and biking (though you can forget buying a Tesla with that).
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Igor Berezovsky told Decrypt that sMiles aims to promote the mass adoption of Bitcoin, or “hyperbitcoinization,” simultaneously making people “healthier, wealthier, and happier.”
“The app is for everyone—not just for people who already know what Bitcoin is. Besides the end-user app, we also have a powerful scalable Lightning backend that we want to offer to app partners who are interested in micro-incentives for their users,” Berezovsky said.
While sMiles is currently funded “by family and friends, with no institutional funding,” the start-up already plans to work with health insurers, advertisers and other partners in the future.
Interestingly, a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has shown that Sweatcoin, another micro-incentive model, created a sustained 20% increase in physical activity among users.
It continued, “Sweatcoin has achieved sustainable physical activity behaviour change using a viable business model that can continuously reward its users for being active. Future public health organisations may benefit from establishing partnerships with the commercial sector to deliver sustainable incentive-driven programmes.”
The major difference for sMiles is that, unlike other micro-incentive models, it pays users in Satoshis – a one-hundred-millionth of a single BTC - rather than in its own unique token. This increases both its liquidity and its application.
Alongside the increasing uptake of cryptocurrency, it will be interesting to see how this trend continues to develop and how teams, leagues, and federations could apply these micro-incentive models to their respective sports to boost engagement and participation.
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Last month, Conor McGregor and his business partners sold their majority stake in Proper No. Twelve Irish whiskey to Proximo Spirits in a deal worth up to $600 million.
Proper 12 Irish Whiskey was the UFC star's first business venture outside MMA. Announced as 'Notorious Irish Whiskey' during the post-fight press conference for the Floyd Mayweather bout in July 2017, the brand was eventually launched with the name 'Proper 12' a year later.
Speaking to Shanken News Daily, Proximo Spirits CEO Mike Keyes acknowledged McGregor's stardom as a key factor in the brand's success and revealed that McGregor is keen to make Proper 12 a brand that could sell millions of cases every year.
It begs the question, "Why take a six figure brand deal when you can launch your own and sell it for $600m?"
Of course, not every athlete has the marketability of McGregor, but it does make you wonder why more athletes and agents don't figure out legacy projects to support their iconic client - even if at a smaller scale, whether that be a candy or sunscreen brand (like Maria Sharapova) or a CBD oil brand (like England rugby player George Kruis).
Even though Sportico report that Kobe Bryant's estate will face an uphill battle to launch a new shoe separate from Nike, there is certainly room for more athlete owned brands in many different industries.
What do you think? Feel free to reply with your own suggestions of athlete owned brands that should exist (maybe a ride hailing company for Maicon?)
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Here's a few of the top articles that I've come across this week. I hope you enjoy!
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Photo Source: Rwanda Patriots/ Instagram
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Sponsorship and Marketing
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Broadcast and Media
- AT&T agree deal to combine WarnerMedia with Discovery in a bid to 'compete with world’s largest streamers’ such as Netflix and Disney+.
- ESPN has acquired US broadcasting rights to Spain’s LaLiga with a new eight-season contract that escalates bidding wars for American media rights to European football.
- Vietnamese digital entertainment firm Pops Worldwide plans to close a US$50m series D funding round by Q3 2021, its founder and CEO Esther Nguyen tells Tech in Asia.
- WWE has formed a new partnership with MATE to launch a digital content series in Australia entitled "WWE Down Under."
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Welcome to the the Sports Pundit Networking Series. The aim is to promote Sports Pundit readers and foster a greater community across the newsletter. For the second episode, I caught up LSTN Co-Founder, Dan Bedi.
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Last week, in recognition of Mental health Awareness Week, Loughborough Sport announced a new partnership with Sporting Minds UK.
Sporting Minds UK is a registered charity that seeks to raise awareness and provide support for positive mental health in sportspeople aged 16 to 30 where they can access free, fast and confidential private mental health support.
As part of the collaboration, Loughborough Sport has launched a video campaign across its social media channels in which its sporting community share experiences to normalise the issue of mental health in sport.
These will include interviews with Richard Riakporhe, British Cruiserweight and WBA International Champion boxer, Ross Edgley, adventurer and Loughborough University alumni, James Greer, Loughborough Students’ Athletic Union President and Sport Executive Officer, and other University sporting professionals and practitioners.
Check out the video here.
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