From June 14 to July 15, the attention of sports fans across the globe will mainly be focused on one thing — the 2018 World Cup in Russia. As usual with this event, more than a billion people will be cheering on their favorite teams while simultaneously making bold predictions as part of the official FIFA Bracket Challenge. But this year, those who have a knack for picking the winning teams could also earn themselves a bit of cryptocurrency as well, potentially cashing in on the current crypto craze to take home some serious cash.
A website called Cryptocup is hosting a bracket challenge of its own, with all entrants earning a digital token based 0n their picks for the outcome of the World Cup games. Those tokens are generated as part of the Ethereum blockchain, which means they will hold a certain value on cryptocurrency trading networks based on the current price of Ethereum itself. That value can — and likely will — fluctuate up and down throughout the month-long World Cup tournament.
While that tournament is taking place, the token will gain points based on the number of games that its owner has picked correctly. Those who accurately predict the outcome of the games will shoot up the Cryptocup leaderboards, putting them in position to take home a slice of the prize money. The goal is to be in the top 10 percent when the tournament ends, as those players will split the purse, which will have its value determined by the number of players who have entered the contest and the current value of Ethereum.
The organizers of the Cryptocup tournament say that roughly 25 percent of the money collected will go toward paying the website’s overhead throughout the tournament. The remainder will be split among the top 10 percent of the players, with the exception of a small consolation payout going to the player who finishes in last place overall.
But there is another element to the Cryptocup game that makes it even more intriguing. In addition to the token gaining points based on how well the owner predicts the outcome of the World Cup games, that same token can be bought and sold on a secondary trading market that will spring up around the website. This gives players the opportunity to sell their token and cash out early should they find someone interested in buying it. Similarly, would-be buyers can look to cash in on a potentially valuable token by making an offer to its owner. All transactions of this type will be subject to a five percent commission, which will also be added to the prize money.
Currently, the pot is valued at 19.5 ETH, which equates to about $11,150. The current buy-in for those who want to take part in the Cryptocup tournament is .075 ETH or approximately $42. That price will increase as we near the start of the World Cup, potentially fueling an even bigger purse and payout down the line.
To find out more and join in on the fun, visit the Cryptocup website.