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Andrew Cohen

Andrew Cohen

Andrew is a journalist who has worked most recently at Sports Business Journal and SportTechie, where he covered the sports technology industry. He was previously an editorial content producer for MLB Advanced Media. A native New Yorker and graduate of Ohio University, Andrew still thinks Cash is King. Disclosure: He owns less than 5 ETH.

Stories by Andrew Cohen

  • Jewell Loyd. Image: WNBA

    Why WNBA Star Jewell Loyd Relies on Crypto—And Why Bitcoin and Ethereum Are Her 'Anchors'

    Nobody in the WNBA can put the ball in the basket quite like Jewell Loyd, whose 939 points scored for the Seattle Storm this past year set the league’s single-season scoring record. That surpassed Diana Taurasi’s previous record of 860 points scored in 2006. Off the court, Loyd has become the face of crypto-savvy athlete investors for Coinbase, which has been the exclusive cryptocurrency partner of the NBA and WNBA since 2021. The 30-year-old Chicagoland native bought her first Bitcoin in 2013 w...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Shutterstock

    Why NFL Alumni Are Turning to NFTs to Support Retired Football Players

    Retired NFL players will have an opportunity to tap into new revenue streams, including NFT collectibles for fans, through the NFL Alumni Association’s new partnership with Aventus. The firm, which operates a Polkadot parachain, will leverage the name, image, and likeness of retired players to create NFTs of those who opt into its new offering. NFL Alumni is a nonprofit organization that is tied to the National Football League but is independently operated, and spans thousands of former players,...

    NewsNFTs
    4 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappé. Image: Shutterstock

    Paris Saint-Germain Is Giving Away Free AI-Generated NFT Posters

    Prominent French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain F.C. is teaming with its cryptocurrency exchange sponsor Crypto.com to launch matchday posters co-created with artificial intelligence tools—and fans can collect the posters as NFTs.  Benjamin Benichou, an artist that uses generative AI as part of his creative process, designed the poster series for PSG. Out of 1,970 total incarnations, just seven were ultimately chosen to be released via the NFT series. Paris Saint-Germain F.C. will display the p...

    NewsCoins
    3 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • A preview of MLB's virtual stadium in action. Image: Major League Baseball

    Major League Baseball Is Hosting Its First Live Game in a Virtual Stadium

    Baseball fans will be able to watch a real-world Major League Baseball game play out in 3D in the metaverse on Wednesday as the pro league unveils its first simulcast in a virtual ballpark. Metaverse technology company Improbable will stream the first regular season Major League Baseball (MLB) game in a virtual ballpark Wednesday night when the Tampa Bay Rays host the Los Angeles Angels. The real-world game will be played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, but fans from around the wo...

    NewsTechnology
    4 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Shutterstock

    LaLiga NFT Fantasy Soccer Games Coming to North America

    Gaming startup GameOn has a new deal with LaLiga North America to develop NFT-based fantasy games for the Spanish soccer league’s United States and Canadian fanbase.  Fans will be able to buy packs of LaLiga players as NFTs and build fantasy lineups that earn points based on each player’s real-life performance on the pitch. Digital gear such as cleats, jerseys, or hats can also be purchased to equip their in-game player avatars with boosts that result in point multipliers. GameOn’s LaLiga-brande...

    NewsGaming
    3 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Michael Andretti. Image: Shutterstock

    Racing Legend Michael Andretti Bets on AI With $200 Million Zapata Merger

    Generative AI software company Zapata AI has agreed to go public on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with Andretti Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) owned by American racing legend Michael Andretti.  Andretti’s SPAC deal is expected to provide up to $84 million to Zapata’s balance sheet, and the new combined company has received a pre-money equity value of $200 million. Boston-based Zapata spun out of Harvard University in 2017, and the company’s AI tools...

  • New York Liberty players celebrate their 2023 WNBA Commissioner's Cup Championship win. Image: New York Liberty

    Coinbase Gives Out $120,000 Worth of Bitcoin to WNBA Players

    Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase awarded $120,000 worth of Bitcoin to WNBA players on Tuesday as part of its ongoing sponsorship of the women’s professional basketball league. At the WNBA’s Commissioner's Cup Championship on Tuesday, each player was awarded $5,000 in Bitcoin from the exchange. Players on both teams—the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces—had the crypto funds deposited into their personal Coinbase accounts. Each team has 12 players. WNBA players are also offered crypto educationa...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy flanked by soccer stars Andriy Shevchenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko. Image: Game4Ukraine

    Ukraine Charity Soccer Match Hits the Metaverse Pitch to Raise Funds

    Game4Ukraine, a charity soccer match announced by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, will lean on the metaverse this weekend to help raise money for rebuilding the war-torn nation. The real-world celebrity exhibition match kicks off Saturday, August 5 at London’s historic Stamford Bridge stadium. Those who can’t make it in person can livestream Sky Sports’ broadcast of the match in an immersive digital watch party produced by metaverse technology startup Improbable and content provider Glo...

    NewsGaming
    3 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • A screenshot from Mitchell F. Chan's The Boys of Summer. Image: Wild

    'Moneyball' Meets Crypto in 'The Boys of Summer' Experimental NFT Game

    What happens when you combine hardcore baseball stats with experimental blockchain tech? A data-heavy, browser-based game called The Boys of Summer—NFT artist Mitchell F. Chan’s latest obsession. Long before Chan became known among NFT collectors for his influential and experimental work, he was a college student attending Ottawa Lynx minor league games and pulling stats for baseball historian Bill James—the partial inspiration for “Moneyball,” the 2003 book by Michael Lewis turned Hollywood fil...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: AC Milan

    Italian Soccer Club AC Milan Extends Crypto Sponsorship With BitMEX

    Italian soccer club AC Milan has extended its partnership with BitMEX, a cryptocurrency exchange that became the team’s first-ever jersey sleeve sponsor in 2021. The extended deal now sees BitMEX named as AC Milan’s premium partner, in addition to its official cryptocurrency trading partner title held since 2021. BitMEX’s logo has appeared on the gameday sleeves of both the AC Milan men’s and women’s team kits since that original deal was inked. AC Milan released its first NFT collection with Bi...

    NewsBusiness
    2 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Manchester City celebrates its UEFA Champions League 2023 win. Image: Shutterstock

    OKX Expands Manchester City Soccer Sponsorship With $70 Million Deal

    Cryptocurrency exchange OKX has expanded its partnership with English Premier League soccer club Manchester City to become the team’s official sleeve sponsor. The new multi-year deal will see OKX pay Manchester City more than $70 million over the course of the three-year alliance, according to a report from Forbes. OKX’s branding will appear on the left sleeve of both the men’s and women’s first-team playing jerseys.  OKX became the official cryptocurrency partner of Manchester City in March 202...

    NewsBusiness
    3 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Candy Digital

    Candy Digital Confirms Layoffs, Reveals Merger With Palm NFT Studio

    Candy Digital and Palm NFT Studio have merged in a combination of leading licensed digital collectible providers in sports and entertainment, the companies announced today. The firm will continue under the Candy Digital name. Candy’s incumbent CEO Scott Lawin will remain in the same role, while Palm NFT Studio co-founder and CEO Daniel Heyman will serve as president of the combined company. The merger has been completed, a Candy representative said. Candy Digital confirmed to Decrypt that it lai...

    NewsNFTs
    3 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Auradine co-founder and CEO Rajiv Khemani. Image: Auradine

    Blockchain Privacy Firm Auradine Raises $81M From Stanford, Marathon Digital

    Privacy-focused blockchain and artificial intelligence startup Auradine has raised $81 million in Series A funding led by venture capital firms Celesta Capital and Mayfield. The company says it is developing "breakthrough scalability, sustainability, and security solutions." Bitcoin mining firm Marathon Digital Holdings also invested in Auradine’s Series A, alongside Stanford University, Cota Capital, and DCVC. The company is based in Santa Clara, Calif., and has more than 40 employees—including...

    NewsBusiness
    3 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Sony Pictures

    Why Spider-Man Is Swinging Into Soccer Stadiums Via Fan Token Maker Socios

    Fan token platform Socios, which is owned by the blockchain startup Chiliz, is branching out from its primary sports focus to incorporate entertainment IP—and use its existing connections with sports teams to market an upcoming film at major soccer stadiums. Ahead of the upcoming release of the animated film “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” Socios has integrated Spider-Man-themed trivia and games into its app that has 1.8 million users across 160 countries. Via a licensing agreement with S...

    NewsBusiness
    4 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Meta

    AI Is Hot—But Meta Is Still ‘Really Interested in the Metaverse,’ Exec Claims

    Reports of the demise of Meta’s metaverse plans have been greatly exaggerated—at least according to an executive from the Facebook-owning social media giant whose rebrand ignited the buzzword in 2021. At a press event hosted by Meta today in New York City to announce the company’s new AI Sandbox generative tools for advertisers, Meta’s Head of Global Business Group Nicola Mendelsohn said that the company is still “really interested” in the metaverse, and that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been “very c...

  • Image: SI Tickets

    Sports Illustrated Embraces Ethereum for NFT Event Tickets

    Sports Illustrated Tickets (SI Tickets) today announced Box Office, a new NFT ticketing platform built on Polygon, an Ethereum scaling network. The move marks the storied sports media brand's entry into primary ticket sales alongside its SI Tickets secondary marketplace that launched in 2021. Box Office is now part of SI Tickets, the online marketplace that resells tickets to major events across sports, concerts, and theater. SI Tickets is a division of the overall Sports Illustrated magazine an...

    NewsCoins
    4 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Forta Networks

    Cybersecurity Network Forta Anticipated $200M Euler Finance Hack Using AI

    Advancements in artificial intelligence are a double-edged sword for cybersecurity companies that work in decentralized finance.  Forta Network monitors more than $40B in on-chain assets for clients such as Polygon, Compound, Lido, ZenGo, and crypto lending platform Euler Finance—which lost $200M last month in a cyber attack that Forta saw coming. “Many of our machine learning models in the Euler attack detected [it] even before the funds were stolen, giving the Euler team essentially a few minu...

  • Facebook. Image: Shutterstock

    Meta Reveals AI Tool to Help Brands Target Facebook, Instagram Users

    Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta intends to use its proprietary generative AI to create ads for companies by the end of this year. Advertising is already a major revenue stream for Meta, but the company plans for artificial intelligence to design those ads for brands who advertise on Meta’s social platforms. "[Brands can] ask the AI, 'Make images for my company that work for different audiences.' And it can save a lot of time and money,” Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth told Nikkei Asia. The g...

  • Image: Shutterstock

    Crypto Payroll Platform Franklin Raises $2.9 Million

    Franklin, which provides tax-compliant hybrid crypto and cash payroll services to startups and businesses, has raised a $2.9 million seed funding round led by venture capital firms gumi Cryptos Capital (gCC) and CMT Digital. Other investors include Arca, Sfermion, Portage, and Synergis Capital. Franklin’s payroll software is designed for small to mid-size businesses that want to be able to pay their employees in cryptocurrency. Separate from today’s fundraising news, the company announced Monday...

    NewsCoins
    4 min read
    Andrew Cohen
  • Image: Shutterstock

    AI Will Help Generate Commentary for Masters Golf Tourney

    The Masters begins this week, and the 87th edition of the historic golf tournament will arrive with a modern twist: commentary of video highlights generated by artificial intelligence (AI), courtesy of IBM. The longtime Masters sponsor will provide automated audio commentary on more than 20,000 video clips of shots during the Masters, which runs this Thursday through Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia.  Fans can access the spoken AI commentary through the official Masters app or Mas...

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