The vote was for season ticket holders and members, not crypto token owners. “Tellingly, when the decision is really important, clubs have recognised that a vote via NFT is not appropriate after all,” he said.īell used the example of Aston Villa - who have a Socios fan token that has lost 85 per cent of its peak value - and recently consulted fans over changing the club badge. One recent example is Manchester City’s partnership with cryptocurrency firm 3Key, an institution that literally didn’t exist.īell also highlighted how clubs have “monetised fan engagement and replaced real consultation with deeply flawed pay-to-have-your-say models” through the use of fan tokens. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK is taking an increased interest in cryptocurrencies but compared to conventional financial investments, there are few rules and little recourse if something goes wrong.īell’s third point was the “low quality of due diligence done by many football clubs”, with some teams signing deals that collapsed almost immediately. If you lose money on crypto schemes there is essentially nobody to complain to. The second theme in Bell’s speech was how the “unregulated nature of crypto” has left fans with little or no recourse if the scheme “collapses or is subject to fraud”. The company says the tokens promote “fan engagement” and Socios has repeatedly argued that its tokens are not sold for financial investment.ĭoes fan engagement, though, really need cryptocurrency, blockchain technology and non-fungible tokens? Many would argue not. The cryptocurrency tokens offer votes and polls on club matters, and can also be traded as a speculative digital asset. The most notable is Socios, whose fan tokens are partnered with six Premier League clubs and countless others in Europe and further afield. Almost every Premier League club has promoted unregulated cryptocurrencies to fans which have completely tanked in value, exposing fans to big losses. 🚨📉 Months of reporting in one place here. All cryptocurrency tokens promoted by football clubs reviewed by The Athletic have declined in value, and most have completely tanked. Of last season’s 20 Premier League clubs, all but one - Brighton & Hove Albion - have at least one cryptocurrency sponsor. Though John Terry’s Ape Kids Football Club is the most absurd example of blockchain technology in football, you do not need to look hard for other examples of “digital assets” that have also completely tanked.īell’s speech in parliament outlined four interlinked problems.įirst, the “w idespread and often misleading promotion of crypto” that helped make it go mainstream while “minimising the risks involved in investing”.Ĭryptocurrency companies like partnering with athletes and sports clubs because it is seen as the cheapest way of reaching young men, who form the bulk of buyers. The Athletic revealed how the Ape Kids scheme crashed, losing virtually all its value and bringing financial losses for those who bought the NFTs at the peak of a bubble that is now crashing spectacularly. These were images of monkeys in the form of NFTs, which to their advocates are the modern-day version of collectibles such as football cards and sporting memorabilia, and to their detractors are a financially speculative grift that transfers cash from gullible sports fans to wealthy investors. “They are all slightly different, and buyers allegedly own their particular one, but, of course, anyone can just take a screenshot and claim that they own it too.” “They were literally cartoon images of monkeys.
“Those were cartoon monkeys being sold initially for an average price of $665 (£580) - that was the early peak,” explained Aaron Bell, MP for Newcastle-under-Lyne, in a debate on November 8.
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