Ferrari Signs Deal With Blockchain Firm Velas to Create Digital Products for Fans

Ferrari has signed a multi-year accord with Swiss technology firm Velas Network to create digital content for its fans, the luxury sports car maker said on Monday.

From next season, Velas, a provider of digital products and services, will become a partner of Ferrari's Formula 1 racing team.

"In addition, Velas will be Title Sponsor of the Ferrari Esports Series, the online mono-brand series of the Prancing Horse, and of the Esports team that will compete in the F1 Esports Series, the official digital championship competed in by all teams participating in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship," Ferrari said in a statement.

Velas is a leading provider of blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), cryptographic assets stored on a blockchain, which have an identification code that makes them unique and have gained popularity as a way to sell digital art.

Ozzy Osbourne, the British heavy metal legend, recently decided to enter the NFT space with his first collection called Cryptobatz. With his collection, Osbourne is also pioneering a new feature linked to his NFT pieces, called MutantBatz. This specific feature will allow Osbourne's NFT pieces to mutate with other NFTs held by buyers and create a new NFT piece. So far, NFT makers like Bored Ape Yacht Club, SupDucks, and CrypToadz have joined forces with Osbourne to let his NFTs mix with their pieces.

Under Armour, the US-based sportswear brand, has also made its metaverse debut. It has partnered with NBA star Stephen Curry on an NFT drop to celebrate his new record as basketball's all-time top three-point shooter. To mark the Golder State Warrior guard's record of 2,974 career three-pointers, Under Armour has released what the brand claims to be the world's first cross-platform metaverse sneaker — a special-edition Curry Flow 9.