Algorand FIFA Partnership Information and Protocol Update.

With the 2022 World Cup just months away, FIFA, soccer’s global governing body, has announced it will launch an NFT platform for soccer-themed digital collectibles.  The platform, FIFA+ Collect, is set to launch later this month and will feature “affordable, inclusive, and accessible” NFTs that depict notable soccer moments, art, and imagery, according to FIFA. As the World Cup—set to take place in Qatar in late November—unfolds, moments from the marquee global soccer tournament may also be converted into digital collectibles. 

NFTs are unique blockchain tokens that act as proof of ownership over digital assets, such as art, profile pictures, or video game items. FIFA+ Collect will run on the Algorand blockchain, a proof-of-stake Ethereum and Solana alternative developed by MIT professor Silvio Micali. In May, Algorand became FIFA’s official blockchain partner. “Just like sports memorabilia and stickers, this is an accessible opportunity for fans around the world to engage with their favorite players, moments, and more on new platforms,” said FIFA’s Chief Business Officer Romy Gai, in a statement. Further details on what collections will be included in FIFA+ Collect’s launch will be released soon, as well as teasers of what types of NFTs will be rolled out over the course of the World Cup. The NFT platform will live on FIFA+, the organization’s platform for live soccer games, news, games, and original content.

Veteran music streaming app Napster is making moves into the Web3 space, with the announcement of a planned $NAPSTER token launch on Algorand. The company has released a lite paper outlining it... Algorand made headlines earlier this year for acquiring digital music sharing service Napster, and for partnering with LimeWire—which, once a peer-to-peer music sharing service itself, recently launched a music-centric NFT marketplace featuring the works of artists signed on Universal Music Group’s label.  Algorand won’t be the only crypto presence in Doha this November. In March, Crypto.com announced it would be the World Cup’s exclusive crypto exchange sponsor. The company, though, maybe curtailing its ambitious sports partnerships agenda: earlier this week, it reportedly ditched a $495 million sponsorship deal with UEFA, the European Champions League.

Proof of stake network Algorand (ALGO) has upgraded its network’s mainnet transaction capacity to 6,000 transactions per second (tps), according to a press release shared with CryptoSlate. The upgrade places the Layer 1 protocol as one of the fastest in crypto. Compared to it, Bitcoin (BTC) processes five tps, Ethereum (ETH) only processes about ten tps, and this is unlikely to increase post-merge. Previously, the network had a transaction capacity of 1,200 tps.

Algorand’s upgrade also added State Proofs to the network, making trustless cross-chain communication possible by securely connecting multiple blockchains without needing a third party. State Proof is a new technology in the market that will solve the reliance of blockchain networks on bridges and centralized validator networks. It would help to eliminate exploits and attacks that have become synonymous with bridges. Speaking on the development, Algorand’s founder Silvio Micali said: “Algorand proves once again that decentralization does not need to come at the cost of performance or security. Interoperability between blockchains is the future, and Algorand State Proofs is a critical security feature for communication between networks.”

Meanwhile, the upgrade also brings new tools to the Algorand ecosystem, making the network better suited for decentralized applications in different sectors. Algorand has already established its status as a high-performance Layer-1 blockchain, and its verifiable carbon negative status further helps its course. With zero downtime experienced since its launch, the network is fast becoming the protocol of choice for several organizations looking to enter the crypto and blockchain space. The blockchain network’s chief product officer, Paul Riegle, said: “(Algorand is) unlocking the tools required for Web3 applications to fulfill their vast potential.”