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NBA top shotthe officially licensed basketball NFT platform that has generated more than $1 billion in sales to date, is moving to mobile with the launch of smartphone apps through Apple’s iOS App Store and Google’s Android Play Store.

For NBA Top Shot users, the native apps aim to provide a smoother way to access and purchase digital collectibles on the go. But for the creator Dapper Labs, which developed Flow blockchain and also runs platforms such as NFL all day and UFC strikeit is the first step in the company’s transformation into a mobile-first Web3 company.

“The NBA Top Shot app will really be the start of our transition to being a mobile-first company,” said Dapper Labs Senior VP of Sports Partnerships Jennifer van Dijk Decrypt. She added that the move will allow Dapper to “lead the way in what mobile looks like in Web3, and continue our path of wanting to bring everyone to Web3.”

Marketing art showing the NBA Top Shot mobile app. Image: Dapper Labs

Dapper Labs will initially release a limited version of the app. Initially, users will be able to view their own collection of NBA Top Shot NFTs, view platform activity, be notified of drops, and purchase a starter pack of NFT Moments. More features will be added over time.

The ability to buy NFTs through a mobile app is the new twist here. Web3 startups and NFT marketplaces have had to limit the ability to trade NFT assets via mobile apps due to Apple and Google expecting a cut in sales.

That wrinkle makes potential primary sales more expensive for mobile users, but really throws a wrench into the idea of ​​secondary market sales between users. Where does Apple’s 30% fee come from if so? It’s a hurdle that Web3 startups have struggled with in recent months since the tech giant clarified its position on NFT sales and user.

Van Dijk said Dapper is keeping this in mind as it develops and expands the Top Shot app, working closely with not only its sports league partners, but also Apple and Google to find the best way forward. When users purchase an NBA Top Shot Starter Pack through one of the mobile apps, the price displayed will include any fee considerations on Dapper’s part.

“When we present a price, it will include everything that will be charged or managed by us on the back end, and the consumer will have that price,” she explained. “We are also committed to keeping prices affordable for fans and making them accessible.”

She pointed last week’s sold out fall of 100,000 Top Shot Starter Packs designed around LeBron James’ feat of breaking the NBA’s all-time scoring record. These packages, which are sold through the web interface, cost $9 each.

“We are going to continue in that trend also on the starter packs,” van Dijk added. “Maybe not $9, exactly, but affordable and affordable.”

Mobile development?

Eventually, the goal is to expand the Top Shot mobile apps to enable peer-to-peer trading between users – despite the challenges given the fees charged by Apple and Google for in-app transactions. Van Dijk said Apple and Google seem “very interested in exploring this area with the right partners and experiences.”

Already, NBA Top Shot sees as much as 75% of its traffic from the mobile web, Van Dijk said – but trying to buy and manage NFTs via a mobile browser can be a challenge.

Dapper Labs was one of the brightest stars in the early days of the 2021 NFT boom when Top Shot permeated the mainstream, but it has faced recent challenges amid declining NFT sales. In November, the Canadian firm laid off around 22% of the team citing market conditions as the broader NFT and cryptocurrency markets struggled.

Embracing mobile in this way signals a new path forward as the company finds its place in the ever-changing Web3 industry. The Top Shot app is the first step towards bridging the gap between clunky Web3 experiences and a potentially much larger audience of smartphone users who don’t have easy access to NFT experiences.

She added that Dapper’s “hope for the future” is that the company and its partners can “over time come together and figure out what develops from here.” Part of realizing that ambition, she suggested, is playing by the current rules of the mobile app market and then trying to push the regulations toward a more Web3-friendly place.

“There are no easy answers,” van Dijk said. “But I think it’s also the ability for us to be good partners together, and get to those things together — rather than in any way trying to go around the rules or things like that. [We’ll] change together, evolve together, and I think we’ll get to a pretty good place.”