Fanplay, the degen entertainment playground for crypto enthusiasts that allows users to place social, pooled bets against each other to fuel their daily dopamine needs, has just launched its craziest format yet, the Hamster Racing League - with completely live hamster racing.
With the Season 1 promo video outlining competitor names such as Max Furstappen and Chewsain Bolt, users can pool funds using USDC on Solana to back their preferred hamster then watch the action unfold live on the Fanplay platform, with winnings paid out close to instantly at the conclusion of the race.
Hamster Racing League currently races three times per day from approximately 7:30pm UTC (3:30pm ET) to ensure races are scheduled around the hamsters’ natural active times (evenings) and that they are not woken to race, according to the Fanplay website. It also adds that the races are conducted and monitored by humans, and the toys and props have been sought in cooperation with pet experts to ensure the hamsters’ health and safety.
A Fanplay spokesperson said that whilst hamster racing is not a new concept to crypto, Fanplay is the first platform to offer users this format in a 100% live environment, produced to high production quality, using a popular stablecoin. Players will be able to have a chance at scoring real winnings in a social format, with the assurance it’s authentic, using a common and stable cryptocurrency, and having the results and payouts recorded on-chain they added.
Virtual horses, marbles, and hamsters are all part of massive communities made up of millions of viewers across the globe tuning into these thrilling, real, alternative racing markets. Fanplay is bringing a new narrative to some of these, with a high-production race course, authentic and validated live-stream races, and a community backed by degens.
The market, while making a significant spike in 2024, has been sideways for months, memecoins had a limited run, and the true players in the NFT space have stood the test of the (deep) bear market times. What happened to fun in web3 (preferably not accompanied with rugs)? The Hamster Racing League powered by Fanplay may be that ticket back to the good-ole-days of honest, degen fun in web3. It pulls on crypto culture, includes high quality entertainment production, authenticated racing of the cutest creatures, and you have what every degen wants - an opportunity at making actual winnings.
Hamster Racing League launches on Fanplay on Wednesday 31st July with the first races slated from 7:30pm UTC (3:30pm ET). Fanplay is not currently available in the United States and UK but plans to enter these markets later this year. Fanplay also offers other unique formats to users such as integrations with third-party web3 games, custom prediction markets, and 24/7 mini-games.