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Professional soccer clubs around the world have already taken advantage of fan tokens, and the Indian Premier League (IPL) appears to be the next in line to jump on the new crypto trend. An article by the Economic Times points out that the IPL is the most valuable sporting tournament in India, worth more than Rs 45,800 crore. An innovation like fan tokens could make the IPL brand a global phenomenon and see its value as well as popularity skyrocket.
Fan tokens are a form of digital assets that are built on a blockchain and give the owners special privileges to the clubs they represent. Unlike non-fungible tokens (NFTs), fan tokens are identical to each other and perfectly “fungible,” which means they are interchangeable. The fan tokens themselves are not the actual crypto. The cryptocurrency is Chiliz ($CHZ), like Bitcoin or Ethereum, and Chiliz is used to purchase the fan tokens on the Socios app.
In 2018, Socios created fan tokens and once they hit the market, they immediately became a big hit across America as well as in the UK. In short, they are utility tokens that are changing the face of fan engagement. They seem to appeal greatly to fans because of the many benefits they offer at a base level, which we’ll elaborate on here.
1. Digital Influence
An owner of a fan token immediately has voting rights in terms of making official club decisions as well as the ability to participate in polls. An example of this is the AC Milan fan token, which gives holders a say in how the team’s kit designs should look, bus designs, official team motto, and even starting XI. On Socios.com, a recent AC Milan poll that took place focused on choosing the motto for the dressing room. A recent Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) poll asked voters to pick a message for the captain’s armband. An AS Roma poll asked fan token owners to choose the warm-up entrance song. As you can see, owners of these digital assets enjoy a VIP membership like never before.
2. Special Experiences
In Valencia, Spain, fans of the Valencia Club de Fútbol team experienced first-hand the benefits of being owners of Valencia CF fan tokens through the Socios.com’s “Live the Dream” event. The fans at Mestalla went from being regular fans in the stands to players on the pitch wearing Valencia kits. For many, it was a dream come true thanks to the VIP experience from owning the Socios fan tokens.
3. Resale Value
According to Nairametrics, in 2021, $120 million was spent on fan tokens, which is proof that consumers are willing to spend money on these digital assets. While the value of fan tokens is backed by the cryptocurrency Chiliz, the market price of individual fan tokens could rise and fall, depending on how well the teams are preforming on the pitch, as well as the perceived public perception – fan sentiment. In other words, the resale value of fan tokens will be hard to predict due to its volatility.
4. Monetary Support
On the financial aspect, every sports club is a business and needs to make money. One way to do this is to raise funds, which can be accomplished through selling fan tokens. According to Verge Magazine, AC Milan fan tokens generated $6 million in new digital revenue. But they are not the only ones who are keen on developing revenue this way, as they are a part of a network of many other major sporting and esports organizations who have signed up with Socios.
The world of cryptocurrency has reached its way into many industries, and now into sports. What this means for the IPL seems positive for the most part – as fan tokens are a powerful fan engagement tool and monetization strategy. Keep an eye out for announcements from the IPL regarding fan tokens.
We hope these insights will help you, and for more content on crypto, technology, and a range of other topics please visit us here at The Scoop Beats to keep abreast with all the latest news.
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