London-based esports organisation Fnatic has entered a partnership with Worldwide Asset eXchange (WAX) to “distribute digital collectibles and physical merchandise” through a blockchain platform.

To launch the partnership, the two parties will be giving away numerous prizes to fans before and during Fnatic’s ‘Legends in Action – Live’ episode. Prizes include custom Air Jordan shoes with Fnatic designs, autographed merchandise, and gaming accessories, among other things.

Benoit Pagotto, Brand Director of Fnatic discussed the partnership in a statement: “We see this new kind of transaction experience as very forward-thinking, and it’s something we’ve been waiting years to try, since people are already very used to trading virtual items in the games they love. With this initiative, we want to start to define, with our fans, what the future of collectible and cool fan memorabilia could be. We are proud to be the first esports organization, and one of the first brands, to offer this to our fans.”

A line of digital memorabilia and collectibles from Fnatic and WAX will be during the aforementioned event. Fans on the receiving end of this items will be able to store, sell, and swap them through WAX’s platform.

William Quigley, CEO of WAX added: “We built the WAX E-Commerce Blockchain Platform from the ground up to enable these kinds of innovative, new e-commerce experiences. We’re excited to usher in this new form of e-commerce where fans can instantly receive, trade and share their favorite products and collectibles in-stream. This technology opens up all sorts of new avenues for engagement and monetization for streamers and their viewers.”

Fnatic is one of the most prominent brands in esports, competing in titles such as Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, League of Legends, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, FIFA, and Street Fighter V.

The organisation has added WAX to its roster of partners, which also includes Rivalry.gg, DreamTeam, Chillblast, Deezer, Monster Energy, DXRacer, Newzoo, Strafe, and AMD.

Esports Insider says: Blockchain has been subject to plenty of skepticism and ridicule in esports as companies try to implement it in useful ways. While we haven’t seen how WAX uses blockchain technology yet, the premise is interesting and Fnatic is a great brand to test out these services with in this industry.