Most days, Daniel Hurtado puts his youngest down for a nap at 1 p.m. Then the 38-year-old father of four will go to his computer. He’ll put his device away in the afternoon, but after readying his daughter for bed at night he’ll return to his laptop again to do one thing: trade on NBA Top Shot.
NBA Top Shot—a partnership between the NBA and Dapper Labs, a blockchain company with a history of highly trafficked marketplaces—is, in its simplest explanation, an online forum for trading virtual basketball cards. Fans can buy and sell video clips of their favorite players, called “moments,” from recent seasons.