Ethereum Challenger Defies Crypto Markets and Surges 38% This Week As FIFA Partnership Drives New User Growth

The price of one Ethereum (ETH) competitor is surging as the global soccer organization FIFA launches digital art on its blockchain.

According to crypto analytics firm IntoTheBlock, new users are flocking to smart contract platform Algorand (ALGO) by the thousands daily with the launch of official FIFA World Cup non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

“New addresses making their first ALGO transaction have climbed from 5,000 a day to 20,0000 a day within three months.”

Source: IntoTheBlock/Twitter

In May, FIFA inked a sponsorship agreement with Algorand to make the Ethereum rival the official blockchain platform of FIFA. This month, the global soccer group launched FIFA+ Collect, a platform designed to give fans around the world the chance to own FIFA digital collectibles in the form of NFTs.

ALGO’s price bucked the downward price trend of other cryptocurrencies over the past week. The smart contract protocol jumped from a seven-day low of $0.293 to a high of $0.407, marking a nearly 40% increase in just one week.

ALGO has slightly retraced since and is trading at $0.388 at time of writing.

Earlier this month, Algorand announced that the firm was appointing a new chief marketing officer. Michele Quintaglie joined Algorand’s leadership team on September 19th to spearhead the company’s global marketing and communications efforts and build the firm’s brand awareness and reach.

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