Much recently, two types of fan tokens, a type of crypto currency, were sold out in a very short time by Atlético-MG fans. Alvinegra fans bought 850,000 digital coins on the Socios.com platform, generating up to a revenue of R$9 million. Of this amount collected, half went directly to the accounts of the Belo Horizonte club. This is one of the fastest growing markets, not only here in Brazil, but also around the world.
To pay for the “gloves” of striker Lionel Messi, the biggest signing of world football in 2021, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) made use of this cryptocurrency. With the arrival of the Argentine to the Cidade Luz club, the fan token unit experienced a great appreciation and increased by more than 50%. In addition to the hiring of ace Hermano, along with the arrivals of other athletes such as defender Sérgio Ramos, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma and midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum, PSG saw their value appreciate by approximately US$1.2 billion with the digital currency alone.
At Atlético-MG, the directors named their project $GALO. Fan token units were sold out in a matter of minutes. The first batch alone, with 600,000 units, lasted no more than eight minutes. It was the fourth fastest sale on Socios.com. The second wave was 250 thousand units.
Fans who acquired this asset will have access to several exclusive promotions, with the right to sweepstakes and other types of advantages. But, look, the coolest thing is the opportunity that the owner will have to participate in decisions with little impact. For example, the club may ask fans to choose a particular model of armband to use in a match and so on.
The main objective of the fan token, in addition to generating extra income for sports entities, is to generate greater interaction between fans and their football team.
The initiative taken by the Atleticans was also followed by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF). In early August, in just 19 minutes, the organization that manages football in Brazil, sold out 30 million Brazilian Fan Tokens (BFT). The cryptocurrency was purchased by 13,658 people, who paid €0.50 per unit. In total, about R$90 million were collected. A new sales round is scheduled in the near future. The hope is that more and more Brazilian sports clubs and entities follow the same path as CBF and Atlético-MG.
Fan tokens around the world
Like PSG, other giant and traditional European football clubs are also joining the fan tokens. The likes of Juventus, Milan, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Rome, Galatasaray, Manchester City, Independiente and the Argentine national team all have their tokens as well. Although, this type of market is not restricted to football. E-sports teams such as Team Alliance, Natus Vincere and Team Heretics, and Formula 1 teams – Aston Martin Cognizant and Alfa Romeo Racing – also have fan tokens. The Professional Fighters League (PFL) – professional MMA league – are also not left out of this latest trend.
