If you’re a big sports fan, you almost certainly have heard about Fan Tokens which is an innovation that’s bringing fans closer than ever to their favorite teams.
In football, several of the world’s biggest clubs including Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Inter, Arsenal, AS Roma, Galatasaray, Flamengo and Corinthians have launched Fan Tokens through Socios.com. Sevilla and River Plate are among the other clubs who will join the 60 other teams by using Fan Tokens.
So, what are fan tokens? How do they work? What’s in it for fans owning these assets? Well, all those questions will be answered in this article.
Defining Fan Tokens
Fan tokens are a type of cryptocurrency designed to provide membership benefits to fandoms of sports teams, bands and other groups. Holders of fan tokens are often entitled to membership perks, such as access to exclusive content, prizes, experiences and the right to vote on club decisions.
Fan tokens provide a little bit of something for everyone. For fans, it’s the chance to determine, in some (often trivial and legally non-binding) way, the future of their favorite sports team or pop star, and speculate on their success in the web3 markets. For the sports team or pop star, it’s free money, baby!
These tokens are everywhere, across sports ranging from soccer to the NFL to cricket. Bands like Portugal: The Man are experimenting with them, too.
The economics of fan tokens are as bizarre as they are volatile, but for some famous people or organizations, it has proven a lucrative stream of income that keeps fans in the fold.
How do Fan Tokens work?
Fans can purchase digital tokens and trade them like other cryptocurrencies. When trading, the price of a fan token is generally set by the seller. It is also subject to change according to market movement and how popular the token is at the time.
Once users gain access to a set amount of fan tokens, they are granted the right to vote on a variety of matters concerning their favorite club. These matters that fans can vote on largely depend on the club, but they could include:
- A club’s merch design
- Tour bus designs
- Ticketing matters
- Match locations
- MVP categories
These perks allow fans to feel more involved in the club they already support, and they add an extra level of pride and prestige as their fan tokens will likely increase in value as the club grows over time.
Fan tokens create an exclusive community of the most dedicated fans. They give a new way for fans to take part in an exciting voting and rewards system. The more fan tokens you own, the more sway you have over the club and the more loyalty you show to your team.
How to identify a Fan Token?
As a part of a fan club or sports club, people are familiar with the logos and slogans of the clubs. Hence they can easily identify a fan token when they see it. Before buying a fan token, you can check its worth by knowing its market capitalization. The seller of the fan token sells a particular one that the fans identify and buy. These fan tokens serve a different purpose than other cryptos( like Ethereum); they solve financial or tech problems in a more fan-based reward system.
How to buy a Fan Token?
Still keen to weigh in on the inspirational motto to be displayed in your favorite team’s changing room? To be in with a chance of doing so, you’ll have to buy a fan token.
The process of buying a fan token is similar to buying any other cryptocurrency. The easiest way to buy them is on a crypto exchange or brokerage, such as Binance.
On Binance for instance, you can buy PSG’s fan token, with three currencies: the USDT and BUSD stablecoins, or Bitcoin. You’ll have to create an account on the exchange, then place a ‘spot’ order for the fan token using any of the token pairings supported by the platform. Other exchanges support different pairings.
You can also buy fan tokens within the Socios app by using Chiliz (CHZ), the native token of Socios’s parent company. You can also buy CHZ within the app. Once you’ve bought your fan token, you’ll receive it in your Web3 wallet, just like any other cryptocurrency.
If your fan token comes from Socios, the market leader for sports fan tokens, you can head to the Socios website or app to put your tokens to work. For instance, you can use these tokens to earn rewards within the platform or enter polls. Or you can sell them on a cryptocurrency exchange, if the value of them goes up.
The future of Fan Tokens
Many prominent organizations are starting to issue their fan tokens. The list includes Formula 1 teams, e-sports clubs, and more football clubs in Europe.
Sports teams in the U.S. have yet to issue any fan tokens. But last year, Socios reached advertising agreements with the NFL, NHL, and NBA. It seems that fan tokens for sports clubs in the U.S. might be on the way.
As of now, more than 50 fan tokens are listed on coinmarketcap.com, and the list will continue to grow. More and more clubs are recognizing that fan tokens serve a unique purpose. Fans can support their team no matter where they live. Stay on the lookout for your favorite team to issue their own fan token in the future.
