PANINI BLOCKCHAIN BRIDGE TO OPEN FOR BUSINESS

PANINI BLOCKCHAIN BRIDGE TO OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Names OpenSea as Exclusive On-Chain Marketplace

Panini Blockchain will open its Ethereum bridge to its customers on Monday, March 30th at 8 am CT. The Bridge allows users to move their digital collectible cards from their Panini wallets to self-custody wallets. The cards can then be stored in their wallet and bought or sold on OpenSea.

In a series of tests in December, Panini America minted its first cards on Ethereum main network, sold them on OpenSea and then returned them back to the Panini Blockchain. When a card is minted on Ethereum, the original Panini digital card is locked in escrow with Panini so that only one version of the asset can be transacted at a time.

The Bridge arrives shortly after the Panini Blockchain finished its most successful secondary sales year ever of both digital packs and digital cards.

“The Panini Blockchain marketplace has been thriving,” said Robert Hull, CFO of Panini America. “It is time for our customers to experience self-custody and the opportunity to sell on a recognized Web 3 marketplace.”

By focusing on OpenSea, Panini opens a marketplace that is indexed in the same manner as their platform. OpenSea customers will see the verified checkmark and the full transaction history from the Panini Blockchain and Ethereum.

“Bringing officially licensed cards onchain is a natural evolution for the category,” said Oliver Maroney, head of partnerships at OpenSea. “We’re proud to be the exclusive marketplace for Panini’s digital collectibles and to welcome their passionate community of collectors to OpenSea.”

The Bridge also allows the return from their self-custody wallets back to Panini’s platform to participate in events as well as sell on the Panini Marketplace. The Ethereum card is then held locked in escrow by Panini.

The Bridge is built for digital card transfers only. Unopened digital packs will not be eligible for transfer outside of Panini Blockchain.

At the launch, Toikido’s Bad Eggs Prizm collections (Series 1 and 2) will be live for bridging and allowing an opportunity to test, optimize and ensure the best possible experience for collectors.

“This is an important step in expanding the Bad Egg Co. ecosystem,” said Darran Garnham, CEO of Toikido and Chief Egg. “Enabling interoperability through the Panini platform gives our community greater flexibility and unlocks new ways to engage with and trade their collectibles across platforms.”

Additional collections will be unlocked as they are available.

ABOUT PANINI AMERICA

Panini America is a subsidiary of The Panini Group, established over 60 years ago in Modena, Italy with subsidiaries throughout Europe, Latin America and the United States. Panini is the world leader in officially licensed collectibles and is the most significant publisher of collectibles in the U.S., with official licenses for FIFA, WNBA, WNBPA, NASCAR, NWSL, NSWSLPA, LIV Golf, the Professional Fighters League, College, Disney, and other key properties from many other licensors. Panini is also the exclusive trading card and sticker partner of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Elite 11 and Pop Warner Little Scholars, Inc.

Panini has distribution channels in more than 150 countries and employs a staff of over 1,200. For more information visit us at www.paniniamerica.net, www.paninigroup.com or

http://blog.paniniamerica.net/. You can also follow Panini America on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

ABOUT OPENSEA

OpenSea is the world’s first and leading NFT marketplace, now offering token trading, cross-chain swaps, and an integrated portfolio that brings digital assets together in one place across multiple blockchains. With the goal of making ownership easy, open, and accessible to everyone, OpenSea continues to build for the future of digital assets, without limits. To date, the platform has facilitated billions of dollars in transaction volume. For more information, visit opensea.io.

ABOUT BAD EGG CO.
Bad Egg Co. is a cross-media entertainment brand spanning animation, products, and licensing, with its community at the core. Known for its bold and irreverent approach, Bad Egg Co. is redefining how digital-first IP connects with audiences.

ABOUT TOIKIDO LTD
Toikido is an entertainment company focused on creating, developing, and delivering original IP across multiple platforms. Through a dynamic approach to storytelling, Toikido brings imaginative worlds to life across games, toys, and digital content, engaging audiences globally.