Karate Combat to Launch UP, a New Layer 2 Platform on Hedera

Karate Combat, the first crypto-powered sport, is launching UP, a Layer 2 platform on Hedera in Q1 2025.
UP will allow sports leagues and organizations to use its Up Only Gaming software stack, which lets $KARATE token holders earn rewards for predicting fight outcomes, with zero licensing fees.
Alongside UP, Karate Combat will introduce the $UP token and H-Stack, an open-source toolkit for deploying Layer 2 blockchains.

Karate Combat, the world’s premier full-contact striking league, and the first crypto-powered sport, is expanding its blockchain presence with the launch of UP, a Layer 2 platform built on Hedera. Slated for Q1 2025, UP will serve as a software licensing platform, allowing sports leagues, teams, and other organizations to use its Up Only Gaming software stack for free.

The world's leading professional strike league, @KarateCombat, just announced its Layer 2 on the @Hedera network 🤝

The @UPLAYERTWO and crypto-native software licensing platform is designed to take web3 mainstream through the worlds of sport, esport, and entertainment 🧵 pic.twitter.com/KtAPGAjVZB
— HBAR Foundation (@HBAR_foundation) October 11, 2024

The Up Only Gaming stack, which already boasts 100,000 users, allows $KARATE token holders to earn rewards by predicting fight outcomes. Now, through UP, any sports or gaming organization can clone and customize the software stack for their own use, giving them access to Karate Combat’s user base and a range of features with zero licensing fees.

“Karate Combat is massively incentivized to spread its Up Only Gaming technology to other sports, esports, and crypto projects,” said onlylarping, Co-Founder of Karate Combat.

“UP will not only provide all the tech for free but also offer grants and our user base to early partners.”

In addition to the software stack, UP will launch its own $UP token in 2025. Up to 30% of the token supply is expected to be distributed to $KARATE token stakers over time. The platform will also provide grants to early adopters, supported by the $UP treasury.

Alongside UP, Karate Combat will release H-Stack, an open-source toolkit for deploying Layer 2 blockchains on Hedera. This initiative comes as part of a renewed three-year partnership with The HBAR Foundation, which will continue to fuel Karate Combat’s blockchain endeavors.

The launch of UP and H-Stack marks a significant step in Karate Combat’s mission to integrate blockchain into sports, enhancing fan engagement and expanding access to digital tokens.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah