Esports League Promoted by MrBeast Postponed Due to NFT Criticism

Esports tech company eFuse has released “League of Creatorsor the Creators League with influencers like Bella Poarch, iShowSpeed ​​and Clix last week and used YouTube giant MrBeast’s huge reach to promote it. But now the company has put the project on hold due to controversy surrounding its use. technology and NFT in the league.

esports insider And Sports and business magazine reported on Tuesday that eFuse also laid off 30% of its staff, which is believed to have affected about 30 employees. While eFuse has not confirmed the exact numbers since decipherThe statement says the company will undergo a “restructuring.”

“The Creators League is an experiment in esports, led by creators and controlled by fans,” eFuse CEO Matthew Benson said in a statement. “We continue to be encouraged by the Creators League and will take some time to consider community feedback and improve its structure. As with all ambitious projects, the road to innovation is winding. We are ready to continue learning and promoting the games.”

The Creators League offered fans “Community Passes” that cost $20 each and were tied to each player and content creator who led teams in the esports league. Each pass allowed viewers to join an exclusive Discord server, vote in league-related polls, and participate in certain competitions.

Shortly after the launch, some content creators associated with the league complained about the use of blockchain technology. Efuse said he uses blockchain nearby to “verify data and record information related to public passes”. However, the company said in a statement that passes are not NFTs.

“Within a product, blockchain provides additional visibility into inventory levels,” Sean Pavel, eFuse vice president of engineering, said in a statement.

“These are not tokens. They are not transferable. They are not interchangeable. There is no cryptocurrency here, ”an eFuse representative said. decipher by email.

However, according to the company’s description, passes are soul-pegged tokens, a type of token that is locked into the wallet that originally creates (or buys) it, and cannot be traded. If so, then it’s still a type of NFT, even if the restrictions mean there’s no speculative element around them.

“We used blockchain to provide transparency and create a public ledger to let the community know that we are not reselling passes,” the spokesperson added.

cryptographic confusion

Controversy surrounding the League of Authors began to flare up when YouTuber Connor “CDawgVA” Colquhoun, one of the eight creators whose name is used in the League, said he plans to leave the project.

“I agreed to join the Creator League without fully understanding the technology behind it,” Colquhoon tweeted Sunday. “It goes without saying that, given the current information, I plan to retire.”

“They assured me that this had nothing to do with the NFT. Given my clear hatred for this technology, I would never have agreed to join if I had known,” said Colquhoun, who has millions of followers on YouTube and Twitch, mostly because of his content. about the study of Japan.

Co-founder of OTK, known as TipsOut. said that the esports organization was also unaware of any NFT elements in the Creators League and was “told there was no NFT/crypto component”.

OTC and TipsOut did not immediately respond to a request for comment. decipher. MrBeast, who promotes the Creators League through his popular YouTube channel and Feastables candy brand, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. decipher.

It should be noted that neither Official Trailer League of Authors, nor does its promotional Twitter video mention the use of Near.

on twitter space On Sunday, crypto game streamer Bryce “Brycent” Johnson said he had “no idea” whether influencers associated with the Creator League were aware of the project’s blockchain ties.

“From my point of view, Efuse has always been open with me and provided me with sufficient information,” Johnson said, confirming that he was informed of the Creator League’s use of Near.

own purchase page The League of Authors does not make it clear to buyers that they are buying something that uses Near in the back end, and their publications from the blog The descriptions explaining how the pass works do not mention that the passes are tracked through the blockchain network. Efuse said it would allow fans to request returns by email if they want.

When asked for more details about eFuse’s financial relationship with Near, an eFuse representative told Decrypt via email that there was an “18-month relationship” between the two organizations.

“They provided a financial grant to use their platform and create our technology based on it. We haven’t received any money from the deal. The grant allowed us to learn and experiment with blockchain, but again, that was a long time ago,” an eFuse spokesperson said.

The Closer Foundation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. decipherbut the September 2022 transparency report confirm that Near provided eFuse with an undisclosed grant as part of the Ecosystem funding effort (the entire category of approximately 29 projects received a total of $133 million in grant funding).

It’s not the first time eFuse, which also owns the news site Esports.gg, is facing controversy. eFuse chief strategy officer Patrick Klein resigned last year due to allegations of sexual harassment conducted during Klein’s previous tenure at The Ohio State University. In 2020 university investigation found Klein guilty of violating the university’s sexual harassment policy through texting and social media messaging with 13 different student-athletes.