India’s Shemaroo Entertainment Ropes in Polygon to Launch Bollywood-Themed NFT Marketplace

The Polygon blockchain has bagged another significant partnership in India and this time, it is for the benefit of cinema buffs in the country. Shemaroo Entertainment has partnered with Polygon to launch an NFT marketplace, themed on India's Bollywood film industry. Shemaroo announced the development on Thursday, February 9. The entertainment and media company has decided to name its upcoming NFT marketplace ‘Virtasy.io', and it will be launched in the coming days.

Polygon is a green and energy efficient blockchain, created by a team of Indian developers including Sandeep Nailwal and Anurag Arjun. Since NFT marketplaces seem to see constant engagement and transactional processes, basing them on green blockchains tends to reduce the overall running and maintenance costs associated with buying and selling NFTs.

“By leveraging Polygon's next-gen scaling platform, Shemaroo will be able to offer its users access to cost-efficient and lightning-fast transactions while retaining Ethereum's robust inherent security and decentralisation. Further, the Polygon network is also highly sustainable thanks to its carbon-neutral status — with plans to go fully carbon-negative in the near future,” the entertainment firm said in a statement.

The company, that was founded in 1962, aims to connect Bollywood enthusiasts with digital collectibles inspired by celebrities and movie characters.

“Pre-empting how Web3 is going to impact the entertainment industry, and to be future-ready, Shemaroo has chalked out its roadmap in this space, and the launch of Virtasy is a major step in that direction,” Hiren Gada, CEO of Shemaroo Entertainment said in a statement.

Previously, Bollywood has expressed interest in the NFT arena after actors like Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, and Sunny Leone released their collections of digital collectibles.

Shemaroo itself, has dabbled in the Web3 arena in recent times. For instance, last year it launched a metaverse cinema experience in Decentraland.

Meanwhile, Polygon, in recent times has emerged as a popular choice in the NFT space alongside Ethereum and Solana.

Starbucks, Warner Music, and Walt Disney are other brands that have partnered with Polygon for their respective NFT projects.

“Polygon Labs remains committed to transforming the NFT space and making it easily accessible to the thriving entertainment and art sector in India. We are delighted to now be associated with Shemaroo, a name synonymous with Bollywood,” said Kelly DiGregorio, Vice President and Global Head of Entertainment at Polygon Studios.

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