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The art of collecting is nothing new: At some point, we’re all likely to have owned sports trading cards of some form, listened to our parent’s vinyl collection, or flicked through our grandparents’ shiny coin album.

Digital collectibles are essentially an online version of this. It’s a new and exciting way for fans to engage with the illustrious racing history of McLaren, by owning a digital slice of our past or future success.  

But that doesn’t make them easy to understand so it’s likely that you will have plenty of questions. Don’t worry, you’re not alone and we’re here to help. We want everyone to feel included, so we’ve compiled a handy one-stop shop to simplify the key info and answer the important questions.  

What are digital collectibles?

As we touched upon above, just as some people collect trading cards, stamps, coins, and art, people own and trade rare and unique digital collectibles.

Instead of a physical item that you can touch, these are purely digital. They are created from digital objects that represent both tangible and intangible objects such as art, videos, GIFs, and music.

This could be pictures, animations, or other digital files. Digital collectibles come in many forms, and no two are the same, but all have the same basic premise.

What does this have to do with McLaren?

For every Formula 1 Grand Prix, we release a free-to-claim digital collectible available from the Friday to the Monday of that race weekend on OKX’s marketplace.

Each race weekend, fans can claim a free digital collectible for the chance to win McLaren prizes. These aren’t just any ordinary collectibles, though. Ours are dynamic and evolve after every Grand Prix to tell a story.

Like any great story, there’s a twist: You don’t know what rarity you will receive – Classic (largest supply), Rare (limited supply) or Ultra-rare (extremely limited). Rare and Ultra-rare digital collectibles unlock prizes, including signed merchandise, tours of the McLaren Technology Centre, virtual driver briefings and even trackside VIP fan experiences.

On the Tuesday after every race, fans can check back to see the updated artwork on their digital collectible, and to discover whether they’ve unlocked a Classic, Rare or Ultra-rare tier collectible.

Once claimed, fans can trade them on the secondary marketplace, whether that is buying any digital collectibles they don’t have or selling one to another member of the Papaya Army that may have missed out.

What is a blockchain?

Digital collectibles exist on blockchains, which is a distributed public ledger database that proves ownership.

In simple terms, blockchains are a digital record-keeping system and database, which provides a secure and transparent way of recording and verifying transactions without the need for a central authority.

The technology underpins digital currencies and digital collectibles. Blockchains allow digital information to be distributed but not altered, copied, or deleted from a network made up of thousands of computers.

I already have a wallet, why do I need an OKX one?

An OKX compatible X Layer wallet is required to hold Race Rewind 2024 digital collectibles.

Unlike your beautifully made Reiss wallet, OKX’s wallet is purely digital and cannot be used to store any of your bank cards or your hard-earned cash… however, it can be used to keep all of your private keys and digital assets safe and secure in one place, including our digital collectibles. The OKX wallet is available on app, web and mobile.

What is cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrencies are digital forms of money not issued by a central bank or government. Each cryptocurrency has unique properties for its own bespoke use cases including privacy, speed, and more. Like any form of money, cryptocurrencies are fungible: a Bitcoin is always equal to another Bitcoin, in just the same way that a pound is always equal to a pound.

And Web3?

Web3 describes the next era of the internet. It is a vision for a decentralised internet focused on ownership and participation. It aims to create a more open, transparent, and user-centric internet by giving users more control over their data, digital assets, and online identity. Find out more here.

If anyone can view the data online for free, why do people buy and trade digital collectibles?

Downloading, copying, and distributing digital files online is nothing new but, just like a one-of-a-kind painting, there’s only one original that can be owned. And when you buy a digital collectible, you are getting a verified, digital certification of ownership of a piece of data – proof that you own the original.

Admittedly, if you bought a Digital collectible of the all-conquering MP4/4 it wouldn’t be quite the same as owning the actual car, but you would own a unique, non-interchangeable digital representation of it. Not only is that going to be worth a lot, but it’s also going to give you some serious bragging rights.

What digital collectibles do McLaren offer?

We’ve been dropping digital collectibles since 2021. Our debut drop celebrated the Italian Grand Prix winning MCL35M, which we split into 22 parts for you to collect and create your own interactive, 3D-model.

The MCL35M was such hot property that we followed it up with the Gulf-liveried McLaren MCL35M – also split into 22 parts - that Lando drove to a podium at the 2021 Monaco Grand Prix. Subsequent drops have also included limited edition driver cards, the McLaren Shadow liveried MCL36 and the three UNDFTD x McLaren 2022 Indy 500 livery IndyCars.

In 2023, our free-to-claim drops related to each one of the rounds on the F1 calendar, with specially designed posters featuring hidden McLaren-related easter eggs for our Discord community to discover and discuss.

How can I hear about new drops?

You’ll want to join the aforementioned McLaren Racing Discord to learn more about upcoming releases and be the first to access brand-new digital collectibles. As well as offering the latest info on all of our drops, our Discord server offers fans the chance to chat and interact as part of a live McLaren Racing community.

Our Discord server is the home of the Web3 community. It allows you to get to know other friendly members of the Papaya Army, all with similar interests and our digital collectibles play a part in this. Think of it as an online coffee shop, your very own virtual 'Central Perk', where we host fun events including race watches and quiz nights where members of the community can win prizes.

You’ll also want to keep up to date with the McLaren Racing channels, website and app for the lowdown on what is being released and when, with plenty in the works as we speak.

Is it environmentally friendly?

The process of creating and adding digital collectibles to blockchains, along with the plethora of transactions and verification of these transactions, takes place online and in the digital space. This can require large amounts of computing power and, therefore, energy.

Some blockchains use energy-intensive proof of work mechanisms to run their underlying network. Unlike these, the Race Rewind 2024 digital collectibles are minted on the X Layer blockchain, which uses a proof of stake mechanism. This massively reduces the computational power required, meaning each transaction has a negligible carbon footprint. X Layer is optimised for fast speeds and low costs for fans.

What are the risks involved?

Race Rewind digital collectibles are unregulated crypto assets. Their value could go down as well as up. An OKX-compatible X Layer wallet is required to hold them. You will have to pay gas fees if you transfer them. Capital gains tax may be payable on profits from their resale. They do not grant you any intellectual property rights in the underlying artwork or the right to display the artwork for commercial purposes or modify it.