VeChain, in an April 12 blog post, revealed that the gloves worn by UFC fighters will soon undergo tokenization, with their identities being tracked on the VeChainThor network. The gloves will be equipped with VeChain near-field communication (NFC) chips that will record fight data, ensuring the authenticity of each pair. Following the fight, the athletes will donate and give away their gloves, turning them into highly sought-after collectibles. The NFC chips embedded in each pair will enable buyers to verify the authenticity of the gloves through a VeChainThor network smart contract. The fighters will start wearing these gloves at UFC 300, set to take place on April 13.
VeChain stated in its post that this system will help combat fraud in the secondary market, which is a recurring issue for buyers looking to own gloves worn during specific fights. The new gloves incorporate elements of VeChain’s ToolChain system, a supply-chain management solution that several enterprises utilize to track items and ensure their delivery to the intended recipients.
VeChain also announced that an initial collection of 12 exclusive gloves will be presented to A-list celebrities, including Joe Rogan. UFC CEO Dana White will personally make a live announcement to introduce this partnership.
On VeChain’s Reddit board, holders of the VeChainThor (VTHO) token had a mixed response to the news. Some expressed excitement about the network’s new use case. One user, pez86, exclaimed, “We’re going to be minting real-world asset gloves as non-fungible tokens every UFC event!” Another user, VETterDaysAhead, viewed the announcement positively, stating, “Gloves and merchandise tracking sound great. Hoping they do QR code scanning on TV for events that burns VTHO as well.”
However, not everyone was impressed. Some users believed that the gloves would not generate enough VTHO burn from transaction fees to have a significant impact on the price. In a sarcastic response to another user’s complaint about the overhyped announcement, tkim91321 remarked, “Hey man, that’s like a whole 10 VTHO burned per year. UFC gonna topple Walmart China in usage.”
Expanding on their perspective in another post, tkim91321 rhetorically questioned, “And this would burn how many VTHO per month?” before answering with, “Nothing materially significant.”
According to Coinmarketcap data, VeThor’s market capitalization exceeded $283 million as of April 12, making it one of the top 300 cryptocurrencies worldwide. In May 2022, the network’s foundation possessed $1.2 billion in its treasury. The VeChain Foundation established its partnership with UFC in June of that year, entering a $100 million sponsorship deal with the prominent mixed martial arts promotion.