PandaSea Founder Steve Van Zutphen Aims to Make Fans Investors, Not Bettors

Steve Van Zutphen
Steve Van Zutphen

Despite the immense potential of Web3, creating products that resonate with a mainstream audience is still a mountain-sized challenge. Many platforms are overly technical, lacking the intuitive design, emotional familiarity, and real-world value that would make them truly appealing.

"I've been building software for decades, and one thing I've learned is that even the smallest barriers are actually big barriers for adoption," says Steve van Zutphen, a Canadian entrepreneur and inventor with a Cyprus address. "In Web3, something as basic as setting up a crypto wallet can stop the average person in their tracks."

As one of the pioneers of web-based software applications and the founder of the CORE platform, a system that merges data architecture with decentralized technologies, van Zutphen knows a thing or two about creating solutions that have practical applications.

So for him, bridging the gap between cutting-edge technology and everyday passion is a problem that can be solved.

Steve's journey through the realms of software development has led to PandaSea, a purpose-built Layer 1 blockchain and Web3 stack designed to make capital and liquidity accessible to everyone.

"My core insight was to remove that friction entirely by creating an abstraction layer that makes the platform feel like a familiar Web2 product," van Zutphen adds.

The platform is engineered to create liquid, decentralized marketplaces for both traditional digital assets and, more importantly, real-world assets. Through programmable, yield-generating markets, PandaSea turns everything from a sports team's performance to solar capacity into a tradable, transparent, and liquid asset.

In fact, the company's first major product, TheSportsExchange, is a perfect example of this mission in action. Labeled as "the world's first performance-based digital asset marketplace for sports fans and investors," it transforms how fans engage with their favorite teams by allowing them to invest in their team's season-long performance and participate in its economic upside.

"Users don't need to understand blockchain; they just get a smooth, intuitive experience where their passion for and knowledge of sports can translate into real value."

Breaking Away from Traditional Norms

Before delving into details about TheSportsExchange, van Zutphen is quick to point out a paradigm shift in the making—one that moves away from traditional sports betting and fantasy sports. PandaSea's founder even has a name for it: Performance Investing.

"When you place a bet on Sunday win, you're dealing with a very short timeframe and a lot of randomness," he notes. "One injury, a referee's call, or even the weather can flip the outcome. Over a single game, luck plays a huge role."

"Our concept of 'Performance Investing' is very different because of three big things: time, skill, and the model. It looks at a much longer horizon where, instead of one-off outcomes, you're applying knowledge and judgment, not just hoping for luck."

"It's closer to analyzing how Tesla stock might perform over the next three years," van Zutphen adds.

As for the model itself, there is a clear distinction from the get-go.

"Betting is you against the house. It's a zero-sum game where the odds are set up so the house always has the advantage," van Zutphen remarks.

"On the other hand, investing is inherently value-based. When other people believe in a stock, or in this case, a team's future, they invest, which increases the value of your holding. That dynamic simply doesn't exist in betting, but it's at the heart of Performance Investing."

Translating a Team's Performance and Popularity into Tangible Value

TheSportsExchange is built around Keys—tokenized digital assets that track the long-term performance and popularity of real-world sports teams. The value of this new financial instrument is tied to both how a team performs and how popular that team is with fans. Naturally, van Zutphen explained the mechanics.

"Every time someone buys a Key, the proceeds go into two places. Part of it goes into a liquidity pool that's only accessible to holders of that team's Keys. This creates ongoing value and liquidity for the community around that team.

Second, and most importantly, a portion goes into a performance buyback pool. Those funds are locked and used solely to buy back Keys in proportion to how well the team performs in the real world, week by week. This means that if your team is playing well, the platform is actively buying back more of its Keys, which pushes up the value."

So, the better a team performs on the field, the more support their Key gets in the market?

"Yes. And because Keys can also rise in value with long-term fan interest and demand, you get this unique blend of performance-driven fundamentals and community-driven popularity all working together."

Bridging DeFi with Real-World Value

PandaSea's mission is to bridge the gap between decentralized financial tools and real-world value—but what does this look like for the average person? How do you measure PandaSea's success in achieving this goal?

"For the average person, bridging DeFi with real-world value means making it simple, transparent, and rewarding. On TheSportsExchange, when someone buys a Key, they can see the market cap gains of that Key in real time and track it daily with ease. It's no different than opening a stock app, only in this case, the asset is tied to something they already care deeply about: their team," says van Zutphen.

"At the platform level, the best measure of our success is TVL—total value locked. That's the aggregate market cap of all the Keys across every team trading on TheSportsExchange. It's an easy-to-understand number that shows how much economic energy fans are putting into this new ecosystem. The higher the TVL grows, the more we're proving that fans aren't just spectators but participants in the real-world value of sports."

Going Beyond Finance

With a product like this, the financial upside is undoubtedly exciting, but van Zutphen points out the power of connection.

"Honestly, that is what the biggest benefits are about.

For starters, every Keyholder gets free access to our weekly Pick 5 fantasy game with real cash prizes. It's another layer of engagement that keeps fans involved week after week. Second, owning Keys is a way of showing support for your team, just like wearing the jersey or buying merchandise.

It goes further, though.

Because we reserve a portion of Key turnover revenue for the teams themselves, fans aren't just cheering from the sidelines. Rather, they're actually helping channel funds back into the organizations they love."

Then, there is the psychological element.

"That is maybe the most powerful part. For decades, being a fan has meant being a customer by buying tickets, merch, and subscriptions. With TheSportsExchange, you move from customer to participant. Now, you're someone who actually owns a piece of the team's performance, and that sense of ownership changes the relationship completely."

"We want fans to think like owners," van Zutphen continues. "Owning Keys isn't about placing wagers; it's about having a stake in your team's performance, supporting them financially, and being part of their journey over time. It feels more like investing in something you love, not betting against the odds."

Leaving a Lasting Legacy

The conversation shifted to a broader legacy in empowering individuals and communities to participate in the economic upside of the assets and experiences they value.

"Our ultimate legacy is to change the way teams and communities think about value," says PandaSea's founder.

"For teams, it means unlocking new revenue streams without adding new costs, thus helping them capture the full potential of their socio-economic value. For fans, it means transforming passion into participation by creating a permanent, highly liquid digital asset class tied to long-term performance.

This opens the door to everyone, from funds and professional traders to wealthy supporters and everyday fans who previously had no way to access the upside of the team they love. That inclusivity is critical, as it makes the system fair, accessible, and empowering."

But van Zutphen insists that the company's model is non-exploitative.

"Unlike betting, which ruins lives and leaves most participants with massive losses, Performance Investing gives fans a stake in something constructive, something that can grow in value over time. That shift alone is historic. If PandaSea is remembered for replacing exploitation with empowerment, then we've done our job."

Future Plans

PandaSea's vision is to tokenize a wide range of real-world assets. Accordingly, van Zutphen shared a glimpse into the company's pipeline.

"Sports are just the beginning. Our broader vision is to tokenize all kinds of real-world value and make it liquid, transparent, and accessible.

One direction is very personal: we want people to be able to monetize their own digital value, which is their time, influence, and creativity, in a marketplace they control.

On the other end of the spectrum, we've already adapted our technology to connect with hard assets like gold. This allows our marketplaces to function almost like decentralized ETFs, where assets are redeemable, liquid, and yield-bearing.

Just imagine fans and everyday investors not simply holding sports Keys, but also being able to diversify into gold or other real-world assets, all on the same platform. That is the horizon we're building toward: a future where anyone can invest in the assets, communities, and experiences they value most."

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