NBA Top Shot is the first of its kind in many ways, but one of the most complex and important innovations that makes the economy possible is the Dapper payments product and accompanying marketplace.
Dapper lets NBA Top Shot bring together mainstream fans using their credit cards as well as cryptocurrency owners using Bitcoin, ETH, or FLOW. As a result, there are a number of safety, fraud protection, and anti-money laundering steps our legal compliance team follows for every single account.
This blog post breaks down the process and gives transparency on how everything works under the hood. We hope this explains where we’re at and what to expect over the next 30–60 days.
AUTOMATED SYSTEMS
NBA Top Shot has absolutely exploded in popularity over the last four weeks, and almost in an entirely organic fashion:
As a result, what used to be manageable as a manual process is needing to be automated at every step. In particular, with popularity comes a dramatic increase in bot activity, attempts to hack or disable the site, and of course attempts to defraud or otherwise harm customers or the economy.
We’ve put in strong anti-bot and anti-multi account measures that do sometimes flag real humans, especially if you use public WiFi or VPNs; if you re-use credit card, billing address, or identity information; or if you have high gifting activity — all of which correlate with bots.
If you’re an honest human caught up in the crossfire and locked out of your account or unable to complete transactions, submit a request using this form and we will unblock you (sorry as there is a backlog here also).
IDENTITY VERIFICATION
Similar to other online payment services, you will be asked to verify your identity from time to time while using Dapper. This layer of security is used to comply with financial regulations, prevent fraud, and to protect the community.
As part of our commitment to keeping our users safe, the identity check can only be performed through your Dapper account. All identification documents must be submitted through our platform — we do not accept emailed copies of your identity documents for verification. This is to keep your data safe.
WHEN WILL I BE ASKED TO VERIFY MY IDENTITY?
There are a few instances in which an identity check may be requested:
- When your account hits a threshold of financial activity from purchases and sales
- When you submit your first request to withdraw from your Dapper Balance
For compliance and security reasons, we can’t share specific numbers and they may be different for different accounts based on location, spending behavior, and other factors as determined by our system. As an account approaches the financial thresholds for which an identity check is required, an email will be sent prompting you to complete the identity check. A notification will also appear in Dapper under the ‘Security’ tab.
Most identity checks will be smooth and fully automated. If you are experiencing any issues, make sure your documentation is up-to-date and you are using a clear photo that matches with your documents. (more details)
And remember, Dapper and NBA Top Shot are not available in certain jurisdictions. Read here for more.
WITHDRAWALS
Dapper account holders will be able to withdraw from their Dapper Balance – after undergoing an account review – in both the form of wire transfers to a US bank and USDC deposits to digital wallets. For US banks, ACH (Automated clearing house) is coming soon and will dramatically speed things up.
WHEN WILL I BE ABLE TO WITHDRAW?
Due to significant demand, wait times to have withdrawals enabled on your Dapper account at the moment are much higher than they will be in the future. Currently, we estimate most accounts will have withdrawals enabled within 4–8 weeks. We appreciate your patience; our Compliance team is working as quickly as possible to make sure withdrawals are widely available. You do not need to request to have the withdraw option added to your account, it will happen automatically through our processes. As soon as withdrawals are enabled, an update will be made directly in your Dapper accounts app under the ‘Payments & Payouts’ tab.
This process will too get faster over time as our automated systems learn 🤖
HOW ARE ACCOUNTS PRIORITIZED FOR WITHDRAWALS?
Because our systems are still learning, withdrawals are handled through a combination of automated analysis and human decision making. Withdrawals are processed in the order they are received.
WHY DO VERIFIED ACCOUNTS STILL NEED TO WAIT FOR WITHDRAWALS?
After withdrawal requests are received, analysts begin auditing every dollar and every transaction to make sure it is legitimate. This is key: identity verification confirms the individual, withdrawal requests need to verify the source of funds and nature of the transactions. This is done in order to prevent any form of fraud as well as stop money laundering.
HOW MUCH CAN I WITHDRAW PER TRANSACTION?
All users start at the same limits ––$1k per withdrawal –– but this can go up to $50k per withdrawal for active, trusted accounts. We will automatically increase withdrawal limits as warranted by account activities. In the future, business accounts can allow fast access for higher amounts as well.
ARE THERE ANY FEES FOR WITHDRAWALS?
Fees are $5–10 for USDC withdrawals (enough to cover the transaction fee / “gas” on the Ethereum blockchain), and $25 for wire transfers, which covers our cost of providing the wire transfer service.
HOW LONG WILL EACH WITHDRAWAL TAKE?
Withdrawal requests are also manually reviewed. Please allow for some processing time between submitting a withdrawal request and having the funds deposited in your bank account or digital wallet. Most withdrawals are processed within 21 days, but others may take 40 days or more to reconcile. Again, we appreciate your patience with this processing time — it allows us to ensure the safety of our community and to comply with financial industry regulations. Rest assured, as we refine our systems, every step of this process will get faster.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Obviously we’re not happy with the timelines stated above and are working as fast as possible to improve the situation. Over time, ALL users will have access to withdrawals quickly and efficiently and individual withdrawals will be processed within a handful of days. Limits will be raised to $50k per day or more on qualifying accounts, all while keeping the entire economy safe and secure.
If you’d like to help us get all this done faster, WE’RE HIRING! Especially important are anti-fraud / risk analyst roles, customer support, as well as engineering. We’re offering a $25,000 referral bonus for anti-fraud and engineering roles so please refer your friends (or yourself!): dapperlabs.com/careers
ABOUT DAPPER LABS:
Dapper Labs is the world’s first blockchain entertainment company. We are the creators of industry leading experiences including CryptoKitties and NBA Top Shot, as well as Dapper Wallet: the simplest way to manage your assets and use the blockchain. In addition, we are the developers behind Flow: a new decentralized blockchain and cryptocurrency developed from the ground up for scalability and ease of use.
Dapper Labs’ mission is to make the world a more open, empowering, and enjoyable place through consumer adoption of decentralized technologies. Our backers include the world’s leading venture capitalists including Fred Wilson (USV), Chris Dixon (Andreessen Horowitz) and David Pakman (Venrock) as well as Samsung, Google Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, and Warner Music Group. We also have incredible angel investors including top athletes and artists as well as the founders of Dreamworks, Electronic Arts, Zynga, Reddit, AngelList, and Coinbase, among others.
