<ul><li> <keyword id="9951693" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="fantasy-sports-platforms" source="Orion">Fantasy Sports Platforms</keyword> are on the rise in India with revenues tripling since FY20.</li><li>The next phase of <keyword id="1759314" type="General" weightage="70" keywordseo="fantasy-sports" source="Orion">fantasy sports</keyword> will have AI generated avatars competing.</li><li>Meta11, one such AI-generated FSP, aims to earn revenue via hosting <keyword id="1612654" type="General" weightage="30" keywordseo="original-content" source="Orion">original content</keyword> and streaming the games.</li></ul> The ICC World Cup fever is gripping the nation. Right from stock brokers to central bank governors, few are able to make a statement without a cricket pun. But that’s not where the fun stops. It’s also the season for cricket lovers to engage in fantasy gaming. It’s now a serious business with revenues tripling in the ongoing financial year from FY20, according to a Deloitte report. Seasoned cricket players are taking to this as well and former Sri Lankan skipper, Kumar Sangakkara, has co-founded one such company -- Meta11, an AI-generated fantasy sports platform, which aims to earn revenue via hosting original content and streaming the games. Business Insider India caught up with Sangakkara and Krishan Deegalla, CEO of Behaviol, the company focusing on bringing fantasy sports on the metaverse via Meta11. Edited excerpts. Question: Sangakkara, you are one of the few cricketers who is also a startup founder. Why does the business of fantasy sport interest you? Sangakkara: It came from a thinking that – how do we really give everyone access to cricket? Not everyone has the ability to pick up a bat and ball and play. But there's so much love for this sport. How do we actually make sure that cricket is for everyone? Web based gaming has a great opportunity for that. That was the starting point for this and then when we brainstormed and came up with the concept of Meta11. It has AI controlled avatars playing the sport, being able to predict outcomes and others. It's amazing to see so many people being able to live out their cricketing dreams on our platform, and that is the real key – cricket is for everyone. Cricket has such a strong emotional connection. Once you're a cricket fan, you're always a cricket fan. Who knows, some of our strategies and tactics and game moments might even influence tactical decision making later on in real life cricket as well. Question If I don't know the first thing about playing cricket other than watching it, am I a target audience? Sanga Anyone can play this because the avatars are artificial intelligence led. So, they learn as a player in the game. If you own your own avatar, you can expose your avatar to training to more match play, the more experience they get they learn on their own. It's a great tool to spread awareness about cricket as well in its globalisation drive. Question There are a lot of fantasy gaming apps in India. How do you differentiate yourself? Sanga Our game is so simple to log in, and you play the game and you get rewards for playing not for paying. Our tech platform, our avatars, our digital creations are cutting edge and industry leading in terms of cricket games out there. So we are very differentiated and we want to keep to that model. Question Do you have any plans to introduce match-wise games like normal fantasy sports? Krishan We want to see how we can connect the digital worlds and the physical, the real cricket. There is an opportunity for us to bring that into play. Where in the game, you can create a super avatar, or super digital player. You can pick five players out of both squads. And if that player does well in real life, you can earn points. We will never do just a fantasy app. It will always be linked to the game. Sanga It has the ability to drop real world cricketers into the game as well. A franchise team can play real world cricket and a fan community can play against each other on our platform. Question So, is there a possibility that one day we could be teammates on this platform? Sanga Absolutely. There is no doubt about that. You could play against me, you could play against other cricketers. Hopefully, you could play against your friends, your family members. Question Could you explain how you intend to increase engagement, and make it more interesting for the not-so-avid fan? Krishan To get the engagement, ownership is a key, allowing people to have that meaningful relationship with digital avatars. We have to train them, and create our own teams. We are also having tournaments, which will be team leagues to the platform exciting. Question The government has introduced 28% GST on fantasy gaming. Is that a cause for worry and will it eat into your earnings? Sanga I think that (28% GST) that's for the pay-to-play model. Ours is free-to-play. No user has to put his/her own money into playing. It's a very different kind of foundation we work on. Krishan If you look at traditional fantasy games, they rely on real games. There is no real content there. With us, we generate our own content. All the content that gets streamed, is owned by us. Now, we have a pathway to monetise this and give rewards back to the users. It's like organising real games. We can also expect sponsorship money, streaming rights and we can distribute it back to the community. Question You talked about streaming. If you could go into the monetisation aspect of it. Krishan We had 30,000 users on the first day. There is a huge appetite for advertising on alternative channels apart from Google, Facebook etc. That is why if you look at IPL TV rights it goes for billions of dollars. So, I think we will be a good alternative for that. The game is exciting. People will be able to relate to it and that means it will be engaging. With that we should be able to monetise it – through sponsorships and streaming. Question What’s the vision for Meta11 down the line? Krishan It is quite an evolution to have AI characters play cricket and allow people to own them. Within this framework, we have opportunities that even we have not thought about. I am sure there will be plenty of opportunities. The vision still remains to allow democratising the sport and give access to the masses. And to keep on making the platform interesting and scalable.

Can’t hit a ball? You can still play cricket in the metaverse

Play-to-earn games gaining rapid popularity across South Asia <ul><li>The <keyword id="2440542" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="esports" source="Orion">Esports</keyword> gaming market in India is expected to reach a valuation of $5.7 billion by 2025. </li><li>GuardianLink with gaming partner IndiGG will initially have over 65k users. </li><li>Players have spent $4.9 billion on <keyword id="4668945" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> games last year. </li><li>Asian leads the adoption of <keyword id="12497705" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="metamask" source="Orion">Metamask</keyword>, a <keyword id="7387190" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cryptocurrency-wallet" source="Orion">cryptocurrency wallet</keyword> used for many Web 3 apps and online gaming.</li><li></li></ul>GuardianLink, has joined forces with gaming hub IndiGG, the Sub-DAO of Yield Guild Games (YGG), to build and promote the Web3 gaming ecosystem in South Asia. Guardian Link has famously been associated with supporting artists like Stan Lee and Amitabh Bacchan by managing their NFT sales. GuardianLink, together with gaming partner IndiGG and its user base of 65,000 online gamers, is on a mission to help gamers monetize their virtual gaming skills. IndiGG has made a significant investment in purchasing NFTs from GuardianLink and will lease them out to its community members to encourage them to play the NFT cricket game, win matches, and stand a chance to earn exciting rewards. "Like <keyword id="14555695" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Youtube-streamers" source="Orion">YouTube streamers</keyword> or TikTok/Instagram influencers, <keyword id="6355684" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="blockchain" source="Orion">blockchain</keyword> gaming has all the potential to become a dependable source of earning in the gig-economy era, if not for a full-time career. We strongly believe that NFT has the power to revolutionize the online gaming ecosystem in Asia," said Kameshwaran Elangovan, co-founder and COO of GuardianLink. Kameshwaran also adds, "Cricket is a religion in India, and even though Web2 games lack adoption for the sports genre, I believe Web3 cricket games would attract a lot of non-gamers in India as well. MCL is becoming one of the most popular live online cricket games thanks to its sustainable earnings potential," says Ayush Gupta, growth leader at IndiGG. Play-to-Earn games (P2E) have especially become popular post-pandemic. According to market tracker <a href="https://dappradar.com/blog/2021-dapp-industry-report">DappRadar</a>, gamers spent $$4.5 billion on NFTs last year. The amount one earns depends on the value of the game token which can be in the form of a cryptocurrency made on a blockchain. These blockchain games also provided a respite during the pandemic, where countries like Philippines and Thailand saw millions of users signing up for NFT game Axie Infinity due to rising unemployment. $500 in two hours Asian countries also lead the adoption of Metamask, a cryptocurrency wallet that is used during NFT online gaming. Vietnam, Thailand, India, China, Philippines and Indonesia occupy the <a href="https://consensys.net/blog/press-release/metamask-surpasses-10-million-maus-making-it-the-worlds-leading-non-custodial-crypto-wallet/">top 10</a>. According to a report by <a href="https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/entertainment-media/outlook/downloads/pdf-global-gemo_take-a-tour.pdf">PWC</a>, global virtual gaming alone is projected to grow at 27.81% annually. Since the Indian subcontinent is a cricket fanatic, GuardianLink has also launched a first-of-its-kind NFT-powered play-and-earn cricket gaming app, <keyword id="13701309" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="meta-cricket-league" source="Orion">Meta Cricket League</keyword> (MCL), through its latest blockchain marketplace, 'Jump.trade'. MCL allows online game lovers to earn rewards worth $500 dollars in two hours. The esports gaming market in India is predicted to grow to be one of the largest in the world. A <a href="https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/in/pdf/2021/06/digital-mobile-casual-gaming-in-india.pdf">KPMG study</a> claims that after five years of steady growth, it is anticipated to triple in value and reach from $1.7 billion in 2021 to $5.7 billion by 2025. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-to-find-the-best-smart-projector-for-your-home-a-buying-guide-by-expert/articleshow/93112644.cms">How to find the best smart projector for your home — a buying guide by expert</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/after-food-healthcare-expenses-are-becoming-a-bitter-pill-to-swallow-for-indian-consumers/articleshow/93115725.cms">After food, healthcare expenses are becoming a bitter pill to swallow for Indian consumers</a>

‘Blockchain gamers have the same potential as YouTube streamers, TikTok/Instagram influencers’

<ul><li>Jump.trade, a <keyword id="12308260" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sports-nft" source="Orion">Sports NFT</keyword> marketplace, organised its first <keyword id="399907" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="meta" source="Orion">Meta</keyword> Cricket League tournament finale for cricket fans. </li><li>Play-to-<keyword id="3972398" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="earn" source="Orion">earn</keyword> gamers in India can earn $500 per day, more than the average salary of an Indian. </li><li>Players need at least two NFTs to begin playing a Meta cricket game. </li></ul> It's not just the cricket megastars who can win hearts with their memorable shots. Now, even ordinary gamers in India can ‘Hit and Earn’ through cricket, albeit in matches played in the metaverse, with a chance of winning up to $500 per day. That’s ₹7,000 more than the average salary of an Indian in <a href="http://www.salaryexplorer.com/salary-survey.php?loc=100&amp;loctype=1#:~:text=A%20person%20working%20in%20India%20typically%20earns%20around%2031%2C900%20INR,%2C%20transport%2C%20and%20other%20benefits.">2022</a>. Jump.trade, a Sports NFT marketplace by GuardianLink, organized its first Meta Cricket League (<keyword id="6400346" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="mcl" source="Orion">MCL</keyword>) tournament finale in August, which was played in the virtual world. MCL is a ‘Play to Earn’ (P2E) blockchain game, where users can create teams of batsmen and bowlers to participate in real-time player-versus-player matches. Users can also form a team and earn rewards. “To begin playing the MCL game, users need to buy a combination of 1 Batsman NFT and at least 1 Bowler NFT from the platform,” explains Kameshwaran Elangovan, co-founder and chief operating officer at GuardianLink. Jump.trade is currently home to over 1,000 users who play MCL games everyday, earning up to $500 a day. Buy NFTs, play cricket Jump.trade sold 55,000 NFTs within nine minutes of going live, contrary to the subdued market interest for cryptos and NFTs this year. The first MCL grand slam finale, organised by GuardianLink and <keyword id="6354742" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="flipkart" source="Orion">Flipkart</keyword>, was played on 7th August. A prize pool of $10,000 was created, to be divided among 500 shortlisted players. The winner was awarded $1,000, while the second and third places won $600 and $400 respectively. Rest of the prize money was distributed to the players according to their positions on the MCL leaderboard. Play-to-earn games in India The play-to-earn games are gaining momentum in India. The Indian online gaming market alone is <a href="https://images.assettype.com/afaqs/2021-06/1ef54dc8-61db-410d-893e-957ce23e0103/Beyond_the_tipping_point__A_primer_on_online_casual_gaming_in_India_low_size.pdf">projected </a>to reach 657 million users by 2025. “India has gained the top spot in terms of the adoption of NFT games and play-to-earn games, with 34% of those surveyed reporting they have played P2E games, and an additional 11% willing to play such games in the near future,” said <keyword id="10022012" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="parth-chadha" source="Orion">Parth Chadha</keyword>, CEO and co-founder of <keyword id="326118" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="stan" source="Orion">STAN</keyword>, a blockchain esports startup in India. An increasing number of companies are showing interest in blockchain gaming in India. For instance, Tezos India announced a grant of over $10,000 to support blockchain gamers in India. STAN, launched in May, has over 100,000 downloads of the app already. E-commerce giant Flipkart is also exploring the blockchain gaming landscape – it sponsored the MCL Grand Slam Tournaments’ finale, where it also publicised its web 3 platform ‘FireDrops’. “Sponsoring the Meta Cricket League Finale was as much about positioning FireDrops among relevant audiences as about learning about the emerging play-to-earn ecosystem,” said Naren Ravula, VP of product strategy and head of Flipkart Labs. FireDrops, a web 3-based feature powered by <keyword id="12461986" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="guardian-link" source="Orion">Guardian Link</keyword>, went live on Flipkart on July 22. Customers can buy NFTs on Flipkart that gives them exclusive access to merchandise online and promotional events offline.

Hit and earn: Indian cricket fans can win as much as $500 a day playing cricket in the metaverse

<ul><li>The Advertising Standard Council of India has released a new set of guidelines for <keyword id="10879114" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="non-fungible-tokens" source="Orion">Non-Fungible Tokens</keyword> and <keyword id="6357017" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptocurrency" source="Orion">Cryptocurrency</keyword>, effective from April 2022.</li><li>After November 2021, all major <keyword id="2721952" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="crypto" source="Orion">crypto</keyword> exchanges had to put a pause on their marketing and advertising activities as PM Narendra Modi had announced in a Parliament meeting that attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising need to be stopped.</li><li>After a long hiatus, now that there will be more clarity and standardization in crypto advertisements with <keyword id="169284" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="asci" source="Orion">ASCI</keyword>’s guidelines, their ad expenditure is likely to return on digital and traditional mediums.</li><li>We reached out to experts to discuss how players in the segment can navigate these challenges and woo consumers without violating regulations.</li></ul>The latest trend flooding the internet is Non-fungible Tokens. From Indian celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Sonu Nigam, Nucleya, Yuvraj Singh to brands such as Yum!, Rage Coffee, MG Motors India -- have announced their foray into the <keyword id="4668945" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nft" source="Orion">NFT</keyword> world. A recent report by Deloitte predicts that India will be quick to catch on to the global NFT revolution with favourable regulations. In fact, it says that NFTs for sports media will generate more than US$2 billion in transactions in 2022, about double the figure for 2021. Another report from market research firm Finder said that Asian countries are outpacing the rest of the globe in terms of crypto adoption. The Asian country with the highest percentage of crypto ownership was Vietnam at 40% followed by Indonesia, India, Malaysia, and the Philippines, respectively. However, since November 2021, all major crypto exchanges in India had put a pause on their marketing and advertising activities after PM Narendra Modi had announced in a Parliament meeting that ‘attempts to mislead the youth through over-promising and non-transparent advertising should be stopped.’ Since then, the crypto exchanges have refrained from launching fresh advertisements on print, television and radio. Now, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/advertising/ad-tech/news/asci-frames-guidelines-for-advertising-and-promotion-of-crypto-and-nft-products/articleshow/89764550.cms">Advertising Standards Council of India</a> has released a new set of guidelines for NFT products and crypto exchanges. Under the new standards, all Virtual Digital Assets and services will be required to carry prominent disclaimers. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="89764550" title="ASCI frames guidelines for advertising and promotion of NFT products" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Experts welcome new ASCI guidelines; call it a step in the right direction Crypto platforms, after a long hiatus from marketing, are up for the challenge and are excited to be resuming their marketing activities before the Indian Premier League. Welcoming the new guidelines, Ashish Singhal, Founder and CEO, CoinSwitch said, "The ASCI guidelines are a step in the right direction to standardize advertisements within the VDA space. The VDA industry is supportive of all efforts towards investor protection, however, there are nuances that need to be addressed as the space is ever-evolving. We will continue to work together with ASCI and other stakeholders to refine them further.” Manasa Rajan, Business Head at Jupiter Meta also said that the new guidelines will improve accountability. She said, “This move is welcome and will offer further legitimacy to this space and create more accountability from the marketers, which is a positive direction for a nascent category with a customer-centric approach. While cryptos are seen as purely investment or trading opportunities, where the ultimate goal is profit., NFTs have a value proposition that is far more versatile than just speculative worth. It is more about changing the way we consume content, engage with art &amp; artists and immerse ourselves in popular culture. So, NFTs’ value cannot be seen from a trader’s lens alone. The experience of involvement, decision making, ownership &amp; utility have emotions attached to it, just like art, gold or even high-end brand purchases. Hence, a regulatory framework should be more inclusive in approach for a nascent category, where the inherent value of these NFTs is still being discovered.” The regulations come almost a month after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to tax crypto investments by 30% during India’s Union Budget. While most <keyword id="12386484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto-ads" source="Orion">crypto ads</keyword> did come with disclaimers, they were easy to miss as they appeared at the bottom of the screen or flew by in a few seconds at the end of it. As per the new guidelines, the voiceover will be required to be at a normal speaking pace so that the consumer can’t miss it. In the case of a long-format video of over two minutes, the disclaimer will be required to be repeated at the beginning and at the end of the video and stay on screen for a minimum of five seconds. No crypto advertisement can now contain statements that promise or guarantee future increase in profits either. Overall, the current guidelines indicate that ads cannot mislead, misguide, give false information, or exploit a consumer’s lack of expertise on a subject. Whether it was CoinSwitch’s maiden B2C advertisement with Ranveer Singh or Ayushmann Khurrana’s campaign with CoinDCX, advertisements last year showed how investing in crypto is the future and it is very easy and simple to invest in. All of these ads painted a rosy picture that highlighted the highs and downplayed the volatility and risk of the assets. Therefore, ASCI is now restricting VDA products from claiming that their assets are so easy that consumers do not have to think twice about investing. It is also barring the use of the words ‘currency, securities, custodian and depositories’ in crypto-related ads. The task now for these crypto players is to win the confidence of people, raise awareness and educate, while convincing them that it is safe to invest in crypto. On top of these regulations and lack of trust in the market, crypto exchanges will be competing with the government’s own digital currency. Rikki Agarwal, Co-Founder &amp; COO from Blink said, “Last year, we saw an uptick in the crypto ad spends during the festive season and during important cricket matches. The new guidelines by ASCI will certainly have an impact on the brand spends, especially during the upcoming IPL tournament. The associations with Influencers and celebrities will also witness a radical shift. The move will definitely help in education and creating awareness amongst the consumers but it is too early to comment on the impact on the brands. Currently, India is the second-largest market in cryptocurrency adoption and the culture seems to be growing rapidly. With the adoption increasing among young men and women, private players such as CoinSwitch Kuber, CoinDCX and WazirX had plans to increase their ad spendings to compete with the possible launch of the government's digital currency. With the move from ASCI, the brands will definitely have to relook at their strategy and plan their ad spends. Brands will also have to consider spending on other platforms and mediums to interact with the consumers and will open up new avenues for growth.” Crypto platforms will also have to relook at the duration of their ads because it might get difficult for the audience to understand crypto in 10-15 seconds; it could send the wrong message across and mislead consumers. Navigating the challenges of advertising in the NFT, Crypto landscape While there are a lot of grays in crypto ads and ASCI guidelines will certainly bring transparency, will it restrict creative freedom? Vijay Pravin, Founder &amp; CEO of bitsCrunch, does not think it will. “With the new tax rules and now ASCI’s regulations, I don’t think it will be challenging for digital products to be creative. In fact, this will bring out more creativity among the Web-3 people. When people came out with the concept of Cryptocurrency, it was laughed at, since it was new and seemed confusing. Likewise, the laws and regulations for cryptos will take time to be able to cover all bases. With web-3, we are enabling an additional asset class for the future. For sure, in the years to come, we are going to witness a quirkier side of NFT and crypto projects than now. Regulations or laws keep changing. This is the current stand but in a few months or years, we could witness something else. But the technology or the infrastructure remains the same. We already witness that India is making progressive steps towards Blockchain technology. I am personally looking forward to seeing how this technology and the landscape evolves,” said he. Raj Shamani- Digital Content Creator, Entrepreneur, Investor and Podcaster said that while creativity will get hampered to some extent, the overall impact on the whole industry and people interested in this industry will be positive. “A lot of people have been misusing their power to pump &amp; dump and promote wrong things just to make quick bucks. This is going to be good for people who are here for the right reasons because they are anyway educating. And if they are providing good value education, people are going to learn about it. Also, it's always the best to tell people I am not personally recommending so that people can easily differentiate between honest opinion and promotional opinion,” said Shamani. He also shared some advice on how to connect with consumers. He said, “The best way to woo consumers is to provide them the right education and value. If you educate your audience right. If you tell them the right things. If you let them know the use cases. If you tell them about the community power. If you tell them how this is going to empower their life and not 'sell it'. The content will connect. People who have been already doing this thing in the space won't face a problem. In fact, this will make people more aware and push them to promote and make the right content. This will only help to eliminate the promotion of bad projects.” Anjali Malthankar, National Strategy Director, Tonic Worldwide said that with everything new comes excitement and concern and both need our attention. "I think the attention from regulators for any space which is seeing a crazy traction in such a short period, is expected. At the pace that NFT, Crypto are growing in popularity the interventions are understandable. As far as the challenge for creative promotions is concerned, I think the creative agencies have often come across the term during briefings – “It’s a creative challenge” So, in that spirit creative will always find its way to not let this come in the way of creativity. There have been very many categories, including traditional finance categories which have disclaimers and yet it does not stop good creative work. In fact, the fence sitters or doubters who were unsure of the VDA products, might consider the category, as promoters get more upfront and transparent about it. If VDA brands are strategically not dependent on or riding on the fad, confusion, consumers’ lack of knowledge and noise but have a genuine offering, then it is just about giving space to disclaimer which for today’s smart and conscious consumer is nothing but a sign of transparency. In fact, if we see closely Crypto and NFTs are born out of blockchain and the need for transparency and hence in intent they are both (the regulators and VDA category) on the same page." Rage Coffee recently made its debut in the blockchain matrix with its valentine's NFT campaign. Its Founder, Bharat Sethi said that the growing adoption of crypto tokens has led to the emergence of advertisements that downplay the risk associated with these assets. Therefore, according to Sethi, increased transparency is a welcome move and where it might impact creative freedom, when it comes as a hit on the consumer interest, it is best to be transparent and supply critical information/disclaimers in this volatile category. “Even after including the disclaimers and adhering to the guidelines, there is scope for being creative. It does restrict creative freedom in communication; however, this is in the best interest of an average consumer who might not have in-depth knowledge about cryptocurrency and VDAs. A promise that can not be kept should ideally not be made in a promotion. There is a need to educate the consumer on the basic ideas around NFT, cryptocurrencies and take the customer on a journey to understand how these assets are. The risks can not be downplayed as risk appetites are very personal. There is plenty of space to experiment, spread awareness and create a buzz,” said Sethi. NFT marketplace Fullyfaltoonft.com curated by Viacom18’s Youth Music &amp; English Entertainment cluster and powered byGuardianLink.io has already received an overwhelming response for its digital artwork preview. Keyur Patel, Co-Founder &amp; Chairman, GuardianLink and Co-Founder, BeyondLife.club said that consumer education comes first and it's a welcome move from ASCI to ensure customers are aware of the market volatility. "Crypto as an investment class is quite volatile compared to stocks or real estate. All investment Ads and campaigns have a responsibility to educate the users on the risks and affiliated volatility and liquidity restrictions and aspects of the asset. Even media, ad agencies, and other supporting ecosystems have the responsibility to educate the same market in a responsible method. NFT is not a financial asset. It is a digital asset associated with games, entertainment, and art. Its inherent value is either in art or utility. Also, the buyers of NFT don’t buy it because there is instant gains, they do it because they find affinity to Amitabh Bachchan or Stan Lee or they find Game like Racing very interesting and want to participate in it. Crypto is purely a trade asset, for investments and hence it needs very aggressive education to make sure, the expectations of returns for the buyers are not skewed by hype and unrealistic aspirations. So, this declaration will not just motivate consumers to study the brand/product before purchasing but also put the onus on celebrities who endorse digital assets to do due diligence thereby promoting a responsible environment. Many industries have been following such guidelines without seeing any impact on creativity. It will rather inspire marketers and content creators to make their storytelling more creative and credible than ever before." Sagar Pushp, Co-founder and CEO, ClanConnect agreed that clear-cut norms were needed in this space. “For advertisers, the greatest purpose of communication is to put across accurate messaging for users. The new promotion and advertising guidelines for crypto assets will bring this authenticity into the segment. It is a welcome move by ASCI as it will ensure that brand communication is not misleading. Going forward, brands will need to operate within the guardrails of these guidelines, making sure their messaging is not limited to quick money and gains. The intrinsic value of blockchain is much wider than the prospect of big money, and we’ll need to get creative to empower users with precise information,” said Pushp. After a long pause, now that there will be more clarity and standardization in crypto advertisements, their ad expenditure is likely to return on digital and traditional mediums. During the festive season and IPL last year, crypto platforms were at their peak. The month of Diwali, which was October in 2021, nearly had a 30% share of the category in digital advertising and it took a dip by 6% in November 2021, whereas on television, there wasn’t a single ad from Crypto platforms in 2020, revealed TAM. In 2021, television saw 33.4 hours of advertising from Crypto platforms. The festive season proved to be bountiful for television too as October had more than 75% share of Crypto platforms, up from 2% in June and 23% in September. A lot of people have been speaking about the risks of investing in digital currency without fully understanding how the crypto ecosystem works. ASCI’s guidelines, therefore, could help bring about more transparency and accountability into the ecosystem.

You Searched For "meta cricket league" and got 4 results

Can’t hit a ball? You can still play cricket in the metaverse

Abhishek Jha

‘Blockchain gamers have the same potential as YouTube streamers, TikTok/Instagram influencers’

Eetika Kapoor

Hit and earn: Indian cricket fans can win as much as $500 a day playing cricket in the metaverse

Eetika Kapoor

ASCI releases new guidelines for Non-Fungible Tokens, Crypto ads; here’s what experts have to say about it

Karuna Sharma