The Current Meta
The non-fungible token landscape in late July 2019 sits at a fascinating inflection point. Bitcoin trades near $9,550 and Ethereum hovers around $211, providing a stable but sober macro environment for digital asset experimentation. The hype cycle that propelled CryptoKitties to viral fame in December 2017 — briefly clogging the Ethereum network and sending some digital felines soaring past $100,000 — has long since cooled. Yet beneath the surface, the infrastructure and institutional partnerships being forged this month suggest that the NFT space is quietly building toward something far more significant than cartoon cats.
The most consequential development comes from an unexpected corner of the sports world. Dapper Labs, the Vancouver-based company behind CryptoKitties, is finalizing a groundbreaking partnership with the National Basketball Association and the NBA Players Association to launch NBA Top Shot — a platform that allows fans to collect, trade, and own officially licensed video highlights as unique digital tokens on a blockchain. The announcement, which is set to go public in the coming days, represents the most ambitious mainstream NFT project to date.
Volume and Floor Dynamics
The NFT market in mid-2019 remains a fraction of the broader cryptocurrency ecosystem, but the signals are unmistakable. CryptoKitties continues to operate, though daily transaction volumes have plummeted from their December 2017 peaks when the game accounted for over 25% of all Ethereum network traffic. The ERC-721 standard that CryptoKitties spawned has become the foundational technology for an expanding universe of non-fungible tokens, from digital art to in-game items.
F1 Delta Time, a blockchain-based racing game, has been conducting official Formula 1 NFT car auctions throughout July 2019, demonstrating that major sports brands beyond basketball are exploring the collectibles model. The “France Edition 2019” NFT car auction represents the third official Formula 1 NFT sale, proving the concept can attract premium licenses. Meanwhile, Dapper Labs has also launched Cheese Wizards, a blockchain-based battle royale game, signaling that the company is diversifying well beyond its feline origins.
The broader crypto market capitalization stands at approximately $237 billion, with Ethereum at $211 providing the foundational layer for most NFT activity. The relatively depressed ETH price compared to its January 2018 highs above $1,400 means that gas costs for minting and trading NFTs remain manageable, though concerns about Ethereum scalability persist as the memory of the CryptoKitties network congestion still looms large in developer discussions.
Community Sentiment
Dapper Labs CEO Roham Gharegozlou has been vocal about his belief that sports communities, not tech enthusiasts, will drive the mainstream adoption moment for blockchain technology. “The community that will bring about a mainstream moment for blockchain is the NBA,” Gharegozlou explains, framing NBA Top Shot as a fundamentally new type of digital collection experience rather than a crypto product.
Adrienne O’Keeffe, a senior NBA executive, has described the initiative as a “groundbreaking game” that will produce “coveted digital collectibles for basketball fans around the world.” The involvement of the league itself — not just a licensing deal with a third party — marks a meaningful departure from earlier attempts. Major League Baseball launched blockchain player cards in August 2018, but the project attracted minimal attention and failed to resonate with collectors. The NBA’s approach differs fundamentally by offering live action video highlights rather than static images, and by incorporating a competitive game element that pits collections of digital players against each other.
Within the crypto community, there is cautious optimism tempered by hard-won experience. Samsung’s announcement earlier in July that it is releasing an Ethereum-based SDK for decentralized applications adds institutional credibility to the ecosystem. The SDK simplifies blockchain account management and integrates cryptocurrency payment functionality directly into Samsung’s user interface, potentially exposing millions of smartphone users to token-based interactions for the first time.
The Next Evolution
What makes the NBA Top Shot model compelling is its deliberate structure. Rather than offering an unlimited supply of digital items, each highlight will be minted in limited quantities, with tokens in the same batch differentiated by unique digital markers. Iconic moments — such as Kawhi Leonard’s dramatic Game 7 winning basket against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2019 playoffs — will likely be sold at auction, while more common highlights will be available at fixed prices. Dapper Labs marketing executive Caty Tedman has also indicated that some collectibles will be offered for free, allowing curious fans to experiment with the technology before committing financially.
A secondary marketplace where fans can buy and sell existing collectibles adds the crucial liquidity component that transforms static ownership into a dynamic trading ecosystem. The planned fantasy league feature, which will allow collectors to compete their digital rosters against other players, introduces a gaming layer that could drive sustained engagement far beyond the initial novelty of ownership.
The unresolved question is which blockchain will ultimately support NBA Top Shot. Dapper Labs is weighing its options, though Ethereum appears to be the leading candidate. The company is banking on promised improvements to the Ethereum network to handle what could be millions of collectibles and transactions. If the NBA’s global fanbase of over one billion people engages even fractionally with the platform, the technical demands would dwarf anything the NFT space has previously encountered.
Investor Takeaway
For those watching the NFT space from an investment perspective, July 2019 represents a quiet but critical accumulation phase. The partnership between Dapper Labs and the NBA validates the thesis that major entertainment brands will eventually embrace blockchain-based collectibles as a legitimate product category. The failure of MLB’s earlier effort serves as a reminder that brand recognition alone is insufficient — the product must offer genuine utility, scarcity, and emotional resonance.
NBA Top Shot’s combination of video highlights, limited minting, secondary market trading, and competitive gaming addresses each of these requirements. With Ethereum trading at $211 and the broader crypto market in consolidation mode, the cost of participating in NFT markets remains relatively low. The infrastructure being built now — from Samsung’s SDK to Dapper Labs’ sports partnerships — will likely prove far more valuable than any individual token or collectible once the next bull cycle arrives.
Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. The NFT market is highly speculative and illiquid. Always conduct your own research before making any investment decisions.
crypto kitties to NBA highlights in under 2 years. the NFT space moves faster than people realize when they are not looking
dapper labs going from cryptokitties clogging ethereum to partnering with the NBA is wild. those clogged kitties laid the groundwork for something real
nobody believed me when i said top shot would be huge. the licensed sports collectibles market was ripe for disruption and dapper timed it perfectly
dapper nailed the ux. buying a pack felt like opening basketball cards as a kid. that nostalgia factor was the real product not the blockchain
the sports card market was already worth billions in physical form. digital was inevitable and dapper timed the NBA deal perfectly
from digital cats clogging ETH to a partnership with the biggest sports league on earth. dapper understood that users dont care about the blockchain, they care about the experience
btc at 9550 and eth at 211 during this period. funny how the best projects get built when nobodys paying attention