Adaverse Backs BitSport’s Play-and-Earn Gaming Platform As It Launches its AI-Powered Game on Cardano Blockchain

6 min readMay 9, 2023

PRESS RELEASE — May 09, 2023

Adaverse, the Cardano official accelerator in Africa and Asia, has announced an investment in BitSport, a cutting-edge blockchain gaming platform that empowers gamers with earning opportunities and AI-powered games. Leading this pre-seed round, Adaverse will support BitSport’s growth and innovation in its pursuit to establish itself as a cutting-edge gaming company with a global reach.

Vincent Li, Founding Partner at Adaverse, expressed his enthusiasm for the highly innovative Play-N-Earn Platform, stating that “Bitsport’s AI-powered Web3 gaming platform represents the future of gaming, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. Adaverse’s investment in Bitsport highlights our commitment to supporting the development of cutting-edge technology that has the potential to revolutionize the gaming industry. With the full support of the Cardano ecosystem, we are confident that Bitsport will continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the gaming world, and we look forward to seeing it become a global leader in the Web3 gaming space.”

BitSport: Revolutionizing the Web3 Gaming Industry with Play-and-Earn and AI

BitSport is a play-and-earn gaming ecosystem that merges the captivating world of gaming with the boundless opportunities of Web3. Over the past decade, crypto gaming has transformed into a booming market with user-centric models such as Play-To-Earn (P2E) and Play-and-Earn (PNE), enabling gamers to earn real money, own their in-game assets as NFTs, and participate in game app decisions through governance tokens. BitSport empowers gamers to take ownership of a significant share of the global eSport market, which is projected to reach USD 5.48 billion by 2029 through its PNE model.

To achieve this, BitSport launched its first MVP in 2018, which enabled gamers to earn cryptocurrency by playing highly entertaining and popular games without the high entry fees typically associated with NFT games. Since then, BitSport has expanded its offerings to include staking options for users to earn up to 36% APR on their crypto assets. The platform also enables users to challenge each other to tournaments on popular games like FIFA, Mortal Kombat, and PUBG, all while earning crypto rewards.

Recently, BitSport evolved beyond being an aggregator platform for existing games and began rolling out its own games and issuing its own token $BITP. The world’s first AI-powered Web3 8Ball pool game was launched, with plans to release more HTML5-based games accessible on all device types. The gaming ecosystem also includes NFT-IGO, NFT trophies, and an NFT marketplace for in-game assets. With a growing gaming audience of 21,000, BitSport continues to revolutionize the gaming industry by incentivizing gamers and offering new opportunities for play and earnings.

Why BitSport?

In 2017 the crypto boom influenced a global shift in the NFT market which contributed to a surge in 2018, creating the perfect conditions for the Play2Earn industry to take off. This inspired the co-founders of BitSport, Victor Ogunshina and Charles Adenuoye, both blockchain enthusiasts and gaming buddies, with experience in crypto trading and smart contract development, to create a decentralized gaming platform that would increase transparency and rewards for gamers. The idea to make gaming more rewarding was fueled by their shared passion and vision for a future where gamers are incentivized like professional athletes.

Charles Adenuoye and Victor Ogunshina, Co-Founders of BitSport,

“Through the convergence of Web 3 technology and gaming, we’re not just creating a new kind of entertainment experience, we’re building a community-driven economy that empowers players to truly own and shape the virtual worlds they inhabit. With the support of visionary investors like Adaverse, we’re excited to lead the charge in this next phase of gaming evolution,” said Victor Ogunshina, Co-Founder at BitSport.

Currently operating from Dubai, UAE, BitSport has ambitious plans to expand its reach in Africa by opening gaming hubs in Lagos, South Africa, and Nairobi before the year’s end. The company’s focus is on building games that allow anyone with a mobile phone, tablet, or other smart device to interact and earn cryptocurrency, with the Cardano blockchain playing a crucial role in this endeavour and largely targeting emerging economies in Africa and Asia.

Africa is one of the largest gaming markets in the world with a total revenue of approximately US$3.3 billion in 2020. The number of gamers in sub-Saharan Africa has risen to 186 million people from 77 million in 2015, driven by the increasing availability of affordable mobile devices, improved internet access, and online gaming platforms. BitSport aims to tap into this growing market and build gaming products for Africans, while also targeting the global market.

Building on Cardano Blockchain

BitSport is leveraging the flexible, scalable, and highly decentralized infrastructure of the Cardano blockchain to build its innovative Play-and-Earn platform. With a research-driven approach to innovation, Cardano is globally recognized for its ability to rapidly deploy solutions, making it an ideal technology for highly promising startups like BitSport. In addition to tokenizing in-game assets, BitSport plans to integrate Cardano’s stablecoin, $USDA, and its native token, ADA, into its reward model and NFT marketplace. The StakEarn Protocol (BSP1.0), the world’s first staking protocol powered by Gamefi, will be up and running on the Cardano blockchain by the end of Q2, marking a major milestone for BitSport.

Speaking on this investment, Shogo Ishida, co-CEO of EMURGO Middle East and Africa commented, “BitSport is a game-changer for the Web3 gaming industry, offering opportunities for both newcomers who are just exploring the possibilities of blockchain and seasoned metaverse gamers who have already embraced AI technology. With a more inclusive and immersive gaming experience that leaves no one behind, we are excited to fortify this platform with all the necessary resources it needs to become a global brand.”

About Adaverse

Adaverse is a Cardano ecosystem accelerator building its most robust foundation for Web3 projects in Africa and Asia. Set up jointly by EMURGO Africa, a subsidiary of EMURGO, the official commercial arm of the Cardano protocol, and Everest Ventures Group, a leading blockchain and digital asset venture studio, Adaverse supports and incubates early-stage startups between Seed and Series A by providing a full suite of support services, connecting them with ecosystem partners for a total growth package.

Since its launch in 2021, Adaverse has invested in and accelerated over 35 companies in Web3 building exchanges, NFTs, gamefi, DeFi, and proptech, spread across 10 countries in Africa and Asia. As an accelerator, Adaverse offers 1:1 mentorship and training workshops covering key aspects including project development, tokenomics design, roadmap creation, legal advisory, community building, and marketing development.

For more information on the BitSport Gaming platform, visit the website.

Startups that are African-focused building Web3 solutions can apply for funding at Adaverse.