Coinbase experiences “strong interest” in blockchain medals at AUS marathon

Crypto exchange Coinbase has seen a positive response to its blockchain powered digital medals at the 2024 Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival, the managing director for the APAC region has said.

Over 42,000 runners participated in the annual marathon in Australia this year, the first to feature blockchain technology and offer race-specific digital collectibles for all participants.

Speaking to Cryptopolitan, John O’Loghlen, the managing director for Coinbase in the APAC region, said the response from the race participants was very positive. Many were new to crypto and eager to take up and use blockchain tech for the first time.

“There was strong interest in the technology from sports fans and it was particularly encouraging to see their enthusiasm as many participants hadn’t invested in crypto before,” he said.

“We have seen an overwhelming response with runners claiming their digital medals post race, showing that the blockchain can be an exciting juncture between technology and sport at any level,” O’Loghlen added.

Even after the day had finished, O’Loghlen said the ongoing “reaction and engagement” among marathon participants has been great.

In the lead-up to the Oc. 13 event, racers were promised a collectible digital medal, stored in a non-fungible token (NFT) allowing runners to have a record of their finishing times and access exclusive benefits upon completion of the race.

Digital medals stored on Base blockchain

Event and runner information, including performance metrics such as official race times, were collected and stored on the Coinbase-developed Ethereum layer-2 network Base, where runners could later claim their medals using a link.

“After the race, runners received a link to access their personalized medals with their recorded performance metrics in an NFT, which has been stored securely on the Base network, powered by Coinbase,” O’Loghlen said.

“This also included the 60 people who received a golden medal that provided them with guaranteed registration for their choice of distance at the next Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival in 2025.”

The activation of the collectables was centered around a Coinbase Cooldown Room, where racers could rest, learn about crypto, and set up a digital wallet to store their medal NFT.

Five Australians and one New Zealander take out top spots at marathon

Melbourne’s Jack Rayner won the men’s marathon, running the 26-mile course in 02:11:49 and pocketing a first-place prize of $25,000 for his trouble. Fellow Aussie Ryan Gregson came in second, while New Zealand’s Christopher Dryden was in third place.

Genevieve Gregson won the women’s division and the $25,000 first place prize with a time of 2:28:13. Australians Sarah Klein and Kate Mason took second and third place.

According to O’Loghlen, Coinbase approached the Nike Melbourne Marathon Festival for a one-year partnership to help bring blockchain into the mainstream and open up Australian sports and fitness to the digital world of cryptocurrency.

“We see more sports and wellness brands wanting to be engaged to bring the digital and physical worlds together to transform the fan experience,” he said.

Coinbase has previously partnered with the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) to offer fans similar on-chain collectibles.