HeroSphere

HeroSphere operates as a blockchain-based fantasy and prediction platform for the esports market, founded in Vienna, Austria. The company's journey began in 2014 with a project called 'thesocialbet', which aimed to facilitate peer-to-peer betting without traditional bookmakers. This concept evolved, and in July 2016, the project was rebranded to Herosphere.gg, focusing exclusively on prediction games for popular esports titles like League of Legends, Dota 2, and CS:GO.

The platform was established by co-founders Paul Polterauer, Philip Peinsold, and Bernhard Blaha. Initially, Herosphere.gg operated on a free-to-play model, successfully attracting a substantial user base of over 200,000 registered players. The business model was designed to transition into a decentralized, peer-to-peer iGaming system. This system utilizes smart contracts on the Ethereum blockchain, allowing users to create their own contests and challenge others directly. To power this ecosystem, the company introduced its own cryptocurrency, HEROcoin (ticker: PLAY), an ERC20 token. The Initial Coin Offering (ICO) for HEROcoin commenced in September 2017. Revenue within the ecosystem is generated through a small fee on the prize pools of user-created contests.

The core service allows esports enthusiasts to predict match outcomes and build fantasy teams. Participants' rankings are determined by the accuracy of their predictions and the performance of their selected fantasy players. The integration of blockchain technology ensures transparency for all transactions, with buy-ins and payouts recorded on-chain. The company's development roadmap included the beta implementation of HEROcoin on the platform in late 2017, followed by an official release and the opening of an API for other betting providers in 2018. In a significant milestone, HeroSphere was acquired by Greentube, a subsidiary of Novomatic, on February 9, 2021. Post-acquisition, the founders have continued their entrepreneurial journey, launching a new NFT startup called Meta Nanos, which also integrates HEROcoin.

Keywords: esports prediction, fantasy esports, blockchain gaming, peer-to-peer betting, HEROcoin, Paul Polterauer, Philip Peinsold, decentralized gaming, iGaming, smart contracts, crypto betting, Vienna startup, Greentube, Novomatic, play-to-earn, esports contests, League of Legends fantasy, Dota 2 fantasy, CS:GO prediction, blockchain betting, cryptocurrency gaming, ERC20 token