Crypto Fan Tokens And Football Transfers: Have Transfers Affected Fan Token Prices?

After FC Barcelona announced Lionel Messi would no longer play for the club, rumours quickly arose, suggesting the six-time Ballon d’Or winner would move to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). The prospect of a Neymar-Mbappe-Messi attack will excite any PSG fan, while also attracting new fans to the club.

Alongside this, the price of the Paris Saint-Germain Fan Token skyrocketed. It sits at $50.06 as of 11:38 AM BST on August 9, up some 38.67%. The trading volume reached over $825 million in the last day, an increase of 312%. And that's before PSG even confirmed Messi's signing.

Alexandre Dreyfus, the CEO of Chiliz, the blockchain behind Fan Tokens, noted this phenomenon. "Sports fans, users, traders, and everybody is interested in [the PSG] Fan Token due to potential Messi recruitment,” he said. “People buy tickets, jerseys, and now ... Fan Tokens. This is a new way to translate Fan Sentiment.”

So, looking at other Fan Tokens, have football transfers and fan sentiment affected their prices and transaction volume?

Manchester City

The Manchester City Fan Token is among Socios' most recently minted tokens, having first released in March 2021.

Man City’s first major signing of the summer took place on August 5, when they signed Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish in a deal worth £100m.

While Villa commanded a huge fee for the attacking midfielder, it appears the cost has not translated into the CITY token. A slight spike from $20.35 to $21.09 occurred in the evening, but nothing significant enough to make any claims.

The trading volume did, however, skyrocket on August 6, reaching $14 million in 24 hours - up from $2.5 million the previous day. We cannot say whether this results from Grealish’s signing, as the trading volume remained at that level – or higher – ever since.

A potential Harry Kane signing may have some impact, but we’ll need to wait and see.

FC Barcelona

The FC Barcelona Fan Token does not appear to have had any significant price drop-offs as a result of Lionel Messi’s departure. In fact, its price has increased 11.79% in the last 24 hours.

The Catalan-based football club has made several signings this summer, despite the financial woes it faces. However, neither the announcements of Aguero and Depay, nor these financial problems, appear to have affected the price or trading volume of the Fan Token, which remained relatively stable in price during June-July.

The Messi Effect?

No other transfers for any of the major football Fan Tokens for the likes of Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan or AS Roma generated anything near the price and trading volume impact as Lionel Messi’s rumoured move to PSG.

Instead, the prices and trading volumes of these Fan Tokens spiked in the wake of the PSG Fan Token's newfound attention.

Of course, none of the transfers caused quite as much stir as Lionel Messi’s departure from Barcelona after a 21-year career. It seems fans and cryptocurrency traders alike will keep an eye on whether the Argentinian legend does move to PSG, or if he instead opts for a switch to Manchester City.

What Are Fan Tokens?

Fan Tokens are cryptocurrency tokens launched by sports teams, offering rewards and perks to those who own them.

Most of these teams partnered with Socios to launch their Fan Tokens in partnership with Socios on the Chilliz blockchain.

As explained by Socios, these Fan Tokens give its owners "the ‘license’ to vote on team decisions" in polls released by the club.

Socios will launch further Fan Tokens in the future, with Everton, Arsenal, Inter Milan and the Portuguese National Team all partnering with the platform.

Read More: New Cryptocurrency Releases 2021: What New Crypto Coins Are Coming Out in 2021?

[Featured Photo by Konstantin Evdokimov on Unsplash]