UK Cardholder Could Own First-Ever Mastercard NFT 

Mastercard has jumped on the non-fungible token (NFT) bandwagon. The credit card company on Thursday (Sept. 16) announced a raffle for cardholders in the United Kingdom to win the company’s first NFT, created in collaboration with professional soccer manager and former player José Mourinho. 

Mourinho, the current head coach of Italian football club Serie A club Roma, is a Mastercard global ambassador, according to the press release. The one-of-a-kind NFT showcases an animated digital football with Mourinho’s signature inscription. 

U.K.-based cardholders can sign up through Sept. 30 for a chance to win the NFT. As part of the giveaway, Mastercard will choose one Mastercard cardholder in the U.K. as the NFT winner. 

NFTs, which are one-of-a-kind digital assets such as artwork, are surging in popularity, according to PYMNTS. The nature and ownership information is maintained on a blockchain through the use of ledgers — much like the integrity of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and Ethereum is assured. 

Related: NFT Marketplace OpenSea Sees Sales Volume Drop 50% in First Week of September 

While sales of NFT dropped by close to 50% in the first week of September to $792 million on NFT marketplace OpenSea, the marketplace has otherwise seen skyrocketing sales, according to PYMNTS. Other media reports said the momentum — in either direction – tends to parallel how cryptocurrency markets are faring. In the beginning of September, by comparison, crypto exchange Coinbase noted that the price of bitcoin had dropped by 9.06% and the price of Ethereum had declined by 13.7%, according to PYMNTS. 

Prior to that, OpenSea had logged more than $1 billion in monthly transactions, an increase of 286% in a single month, from July to August, PYMNTS reported.

See also: NFTs And The ‘Fad Vs Trend’ Debate 

Thursday’s announcement comes on the heels of a recent PYMNTS report that Mastercard had signed an agreement to purchase cryptocurrency intelligence startup CipherTrace to combine both companies’ cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence power. The acquisition would enable Mastercard to differentiate its card and real-time payments framework to benefit clients and investors, according to the article.  

Read more: Mastercard Buys Crypto Intel Startup CipherTrace