In the world of cryptocurrency, a key axiom is that blockchain technology can be used for just about anything. To be sure, blockchain has potential uses far beyond just cryptocurrency. And many people and companies are beginning to explore what those possibilities could look like. Today, the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team has come up with a brand new idea: sports-themed crypto collectibles.

LA Dodgers Make Crypto History

The Dodgers recently announced a brand new, first of its kind event. September 21 will be Digital Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium.

The first 40,000 fans through the doors will receive a free card with a unique code on it. The card will also have a web address. When fans get back home, they head to the website and enter the code.

From there, the code unlocks a token for a digital bobblehead. Each token is randomly linked to a digital bobblehead of either Clayton Kershaw, Justin Turner, or Kenley Jansen.

After receiving their token, fans complete the process by downloading it to their Ethereum wallet. At that point, fans have full access to their digital bobblehead.

Don’t miss the first-ever Digital Bobblehead Night at Dodger Stadium! On 9/21, the first 40,000 fans will receive a @ClaytonKersh22, @redturn2 or @kenleyjansen74 Crypto token to be downloaded and added to their Ethereum wallet. 🎟: https://t.co/36IUWLyXz9 pic.twitter.com/bVh6C5VNud — Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 7, 2018

The digital giveaway is making history. For starters, the Dodgers organization said this is the first time a baseball team has ever done this type of giveaway. Beyond that, it is reportedly the first such giveaway at any sports event ever.

“We’re excited for our first-ever crypto giveaway, and to explore an entirely new marketplace with our fanbase,” Dodgers Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Lon Rosen told MLB.com. “We hope this piques the interest of Dodger fans, and will help launch a new age of digital collectibles and promotions.”

To get your bobblehead, you’ll first need an Ethereum wallet. Without one, you won’t have any way to unlock and download your bobblehead.

Crypto Collectibles: A Growing Trend?

While the Dodgers’ digital bobbleheads are a first in the sports world, it’s not the first time somebody has used crypto and blockchain technology for collectibles. In fact, the concept of crypto collectibles is already being explored by a number of companies.

A crypto collectible is basically a crypto token that has a one of a kind code. As a result, a collectible token cannot be replaced or swapped out with another token. For that reason, they are called “non-fungible tokens.”

This is a key difference from regular crypto tokens. Specifically, regular tokens can be exchanged and swapped out with one another. One token is precisely as valuable as any other.

It’s just like regular money. If you loan somebody $20 they can pay you back with any other $20 bill. Alternatively, they could even give you a combination of bills, as long as it adds up to $20. The point is, there’s nothing unique about the $20 you loaned. And to be paid back, you don’t need to get that specific bill back. That’s basically how it works with cryptocurrency, too.

But crypto collectibles are different. Each one is totally unique and cannot be swapped or exchanged. Currently, a number of companies are exploring ways of using this technology. Most recently, a video game called War Riders used crypto collectibles as a key aspect of gameplay.

In War Riders, players received non-fungible tokens which gave them access to unique vehicles. These were then used in the game. Interestingly, the collectibles were recently pulled from Coinbase. Regardless, it seems as if crypto collectibles could be a growing trend.