eBay Features Former Ice Hockey Player Wayne Gretzky in its First NFT Collection

On Monday, prominent e-commerce company eBay announced the launch of its first NFT collection dubbed “Genesis.” The project was done in partnership with the web3 platform OneOf. Each of the 13 tokens within the collection will have a starting price of $10 and they will feature 3D animated renderings of Canadian ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky making signature moves on the ice. The collection is also set to have 4 categories, namely: green, gold, platinum, and diamond-tier NFTs. The move was prompted by eBay’s notice of the continued growth of the NFT space.

“Through our partnership with OneOf, eBay is now making coveted NFTs more accessible to a new generation of collectors everywhere,” explained eBay vice president of collectibles, electronics, and home Dawn Block. “This builds upon our commitment to deliver high-passion, high-value items to the eBay community of buyers and sellers.” This is expected to be the first of many collections to come featuring iconic athletes that have been on the cover of Sports Illustrated through the years.

Gretzky, on the other hand, expressed his gratitude for being part of eBay’s first NFT collection. “Forty years ago, I was grateful to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated, it was a monumental moment in my life,” said the former professional hockey player. “I’m honored to bring this collectible experience to my hockey fans who have followed my career for decades.”

Earlier last year, eBay had already revealed that it will be looking to integrate NFTs into its platform, and it is just one of the most recent firms to enter the NFT space alongside Instagram and Spotify. Worldwide, the e-commerce platform has a consumer base of 142 million, putting it behind its biggest competitor Amazon. The company also bought a 25% stake in the collectibles designer Funko, which was worth $263 million, in a consortium that includes former Disney CEO Bob Iger, sports agent Rich Paul, and the Chernin Group.

Its partner, OneOf, considers itself a “green” NFT platform that uses energy-efficient blockchain technology. “Our software and eBay’s software will be integrated to provide a super easy NFT purchase experience for the consumer,” said OneOf CEO Lin Dai. “Our goal is to bring on the next 100 million [currently] non-crypto users and I think this partnership helps us do that.”

Sources: CNBC, TechCrunch