WHAT IS THE BLOCKCHAIN AND WHY DOES IT MATTER IN NBA TOP SHOT?
If, like many, you have been swept up in the excitement surrounding Top Shot in recent months, you’ve probably heard the term ‘blockchain’ bandied around on more than a few occasions. The savvy investors and crypto enthusiasts among you will already be aware of its meaning, but those of you who aren’t are probably wondering what exactly it is, and why you should care.
In technical jargon it’s a decentralized database which immutably records transactions. Confused? Put more simply, it’s basically just a digital ledger of transactions. Every time an asset changes hands on the blockchain, a record of that sale is made and sent to thousands of computers around the world. These records can never be altered, and are available for anyone to see.
If you’re still confused, picture an old receptionist jotting down information about a sale and filing it away in a cabinet. Overnight, the office might burn down, or a thief with a fetish for paperwork could sneak in and steal the documents, and they will be lost forever. On the blockchain that risk is mitigated, because instead of a receptionist you have a computer, and instead of a filing cabinet you have thousands of other computers. This, of course, means that all that information is very secure and very transparent, which is why an increasing number of businesses are choosing to use this new technology.
So what does this have to do with NBA Top Shot? Well, as you may have guessed by now, Top Shot uses a blockchain – the Flow blockchain, to be precise. This is why whenever you click on a particular moment and select a serial number, you’ll be able to access information about each and every time that asset has been sold – who sold it, who bought it, how much for and when. Equipping yourself with this information means that you’re better placed to make an informed decision about whether to buy a moment - something we can also help with courtesy of our ‘What Brings Value to NBA Top Shots Moments’ article.
Example of the NBA Top Shot Marketplace displaying latest sales transactions for a Lebron Moment
Detailed information is available for each and every transaction for all Moments on the Top Shot platform and is publically available for anyone to view. What makes this all possible is blockchain technology.
Image: NBA Top Shot
Maybe none of that sounds useful to you, but it does ensure that when that shady acquaintance of yours sends you a message asking if you want to buy his or her moment for what seems like an exorbitant price, you’ll be well-placed to check whether that is indeed the case. And while it might not be as important to have all that information at your disposal when you’re buying and selling at the lower end of the price spectrum, given that some people are parting with four, five and even six-figure sums for certain moments, a bit of added security can definitely come in handy.
