Buying fan tokens is one of the most exciting ways for investors to support their favorite sports teams. It allows them to access exclusive facilities, services, and rewards provided by sports organizations.
Fan tokens have many of the typical characteristics of cryptocurrencies. And as with cryptocurrencies, they can be bought, sold, and traded. Fan tokens have no fixed value, i.e., their weight is derived from the value of fan participation and engagement.
Fan tokens have an initial sale price on the market, which changes over time based on the number of fans and holders who decide to hold or sell the token. Fan Tokens are digital assets that unlock exclusive benefits for their owners while giving them new ways to interact with their favorite teams.
Most of these digital assets have been built on the Chiliz blockchain, a sports and entertainment blockchain. To support direct engagement between fans and their teams, Chiliz (CHZ) optimizes the power of blockchain technology. CHZ can be purchased on Socios, which acts as a crowd-management platform for Chiliz.
What Are Fan Tokens?
Fan tokens are digital assets in blockchain through which teams offer their fans unique and exclusive benefits and prizes. The sale of fan tokens takes place within dedicated environments of the host platforms.
To buy the tokens, it is, therefore, necessary to register on the platform and convert the currency used for the purchase, the euro, for example, into the cryptocurrency of the host platform. Through the latter, it is possible to purchase fan tokens.
The weightage of fan token value comes from fan participation and involvement. While it is initially sold at a fixed price, its value keeps fluctuating over time. Fan tokens are similar to DAO governance token since it allows the token holder to have a say in tech issues. You can see the value of a fan token by knowing its market capitalization.
Why Are Fan Tokens So Popular?
As opposed to traditional fan club memberships that require ongoing fees, fan tokens require only one-time payment. Fan tokens may also provide governance benefits to the fans. For example, it may allow the fans holding the tokens to vote on a new logo for the team.
Apart from that, many clubs provide access to raffles, drawings, and dedicated fan events. Some football fan tokens give the holders access to meet-and-greet events with coaches and players, team-specific NFTs, and special player-interactive events.
Fan tokens gained popularity after prominent sports clubs like AC Milan, Inter Milan, Santos FC, and FC Porto started offering them for revenue generation. After their success with football clubs, sporting associations like NFL, NBA, and NHL also joined in the hype after reaching agreements with Socios. Fan tokens are mainly part of the excitement and hype around large sporting events like the World Cup and the International Dota 2 Tournament.
Top Fan Tokens In 2023
While the best fan tokens are the ones that belong to your favorite team, you may also be interested in buying fan tokens of more than one team. We’ve compiled a list of the top fan tokens to invest in and how different factors can spur their price gains in 2023, so read on!
Argentine Football Association Fan Token (ARG)
The Argentine Football Association is known for participating in FIFA, CONMEBOL, and the Olympics. It was established almost a century ago and currently boasts a strong fan following. $ARG was sold out just three hours after its release. Six hundred thousand tokens were bought at a price of US$2 each. This token can be traded on Socios.
Paris Saint-Germain Fan Token (PSG)
This token belongs to the world-famous French football club Paris Saint-Germain, founded in 1970. It is available on the Socios Fan Token Platform and is minted on the Ethereum blockchain. PSG fan tokens allow the holders to choose the message to be written on the captain’s armband. The fans who own PSG tokens get access to the official merchandise of the football club rewards and various VIP experiences.
Additionally, the fans can vote on the team's long-term goals. Just like any cryptocurrency, it can be traded on crypto markets. The token's value rose by 130% in just five days when it was rumored that Messi would join the PSG squad.
Galatasaray Fan Token (GALFT)
Galatasaray Fan Token belongs to the Turkish football club Galatasaray. It was the first Turkish club to win both the Super Cup and the UEFA Cup in 2000. Through voting, the fan token holders can participate in the club’s governance and earn discounts on merchandise.
S.S. Lazio Fan Token (LAZIO)
LAZIO is a Binance Smart Chain BEP-20 token that belongs to Società Sportiva Lazio, an Italian football league that has won several titles. With its strong fan following, the members can participate in the club’s upcoming e-commerce ecosystem. The holders of this fan token can win digital collectibles and voting sessions.
Santos FC Token (SANTOS)
Launched in November 2021, SANTOS is a Binance Smart Chain-based BEP-20 token. Santos FC is a famous Brazilian football club headquartered in Vila Belmiro. The club has a strong fan following, considering it has a history of more than 110 years. Football legends like Pele and Robinho also hail from the Santos Club.
The SANTOS token holders can participate in all team activities and voting events from the Binance Fan Token platform. Fans may also vote for the team’s warm-up song. The exclusive benefits that some token holders enjoy include NFTs, official team merchandise, and GameFi access. It is one of the largest fan tokens in terms of market capitalization.
FC Barcelona Fan Token (BAR)
Founded in 1899, Barcelona is one of the most followed and recognizable football clubs globally. It is a professional football team based in Barcelona, Spain. The Fan Token of Barcelona is called BAR. It can be accessed using the Socios Fan Token Platform and is minted on the Ethereum blockchain. The BAR token holders can enjoy rewards, vote on various decisions, and even decide on captain armband messages. Participating in polls about FC Barcelona’s activities can allow you to win amazing prizes can as official merchandise, invites to meetings, and match tickets.
AC Milan Fan Token (ACM)
Established in 1899, AC Milan has 18 title wins in FIFA and UEFA. It, therefore, enjoys a solid fan base worldwide. This fan token is available on Socios. It allows the AC Milan fans to tokenize the reward points earned through different activities. With being the most undervalued fan token and AC Milan’s solid start to the season, crypto analysts believe this token has excellent potential to grow.
Inter Milan Fan Token (INTER)
INTER belongs to the famous Italian club Inter Milan. This fan token allows the holders to not only influence the club's decisions but also choose a song to in during the celebration of goals.
Brazil National Football Team Fan Token (BFT)
BFT was released in August 2021. It belongs to Seleção Canarinho or the Brazil national football team. It is one of the most successful football teams in the world. Having won the FIFA World Cup five times, Brazil's National Football Team has a strong fan following worldwide. Like other fan tokens, it allows the fans to participate in polls, surveys, and events and offers them rewards such as digital collectibles.
OG Fan Token (OG)
This fan token was founded in 2015. It is a Europe-based professional esports organization best known for its Dota 2 team. It is the first esports team to enter a cryptocurrency and sell fan tokens.
Manchester City Fan Token (CITY)
This fan token belongs to Manchester City, a world-famous team that has won four Premier League titles. It can be traded on Socios. The value of this token soared when it was rumored that Cristiano Ronaldo would join the club but plunged later when it failed to happen.
Considering Machester City’s win in this season’s Premier League, it has gathered one of the most substantial fan bases in the world of football. Crypto analysts believe this factor can help this token reach new heights once more fans know about fan tokens.
Fan Tokens In Other Sports
Currently, fan tokens are available for gaming, football, racing, fighting, and movies.
Alpine F1 Team Fan Token (ALPINE)
It is issued by the Formula One racing team BWT Alpine F1. This BEP-20 utility fan token is built on the Binance Launchpad. It allows the Alpine F1 fans to enjoy unique fan experiences and vote on minor team decisions. The ALPINE token has a limited number of NFTs that can be staked for rewards. The current market cap of ALPINE is $23.15M, and the token's price is $2.03.
Davis Cup Fan Token (DAVIS)
Davis Cup team is a United States-based national men’s tennis team. The team launched its fan token in 2021 to promote the engagement and participation of tennis enthusiasts. Like all other fan tokens, the holders can enjoy VIP experiences like meeting with team members and purchasing branded merchandise.
Fan Tokens: A Promising Future?
Many people still think that buying cryptocurrencies is a high-risk investment. The cryptocurrency market is notoriously unpredictable, and meme coins are particularly susceptible to price swings. However, as specific fan tokens can increase in value if they catch on and become more popular, tremendous risk can always bring great returns.
When investing, considering the product's value and possible solutions is always a good idea. Fan tokens can be more of a purchase of the specific advantages that sports teams can offer than a financial investment.
Recently archived, the World Cup in Qatar will be remembered a bit as the World Cup 'of the first times' from many points of view. Not just for being the first World Cup played in winter or involving three female referees.
For the first time, it has enabled fans worldwide to support their favorite team in an entirely new way: through fan tokens (digital cryptocurrencies) issued by blockchain platforms, which can be bought, sold, and exchanged by fans of the squad. Proceeds from fan token sales go to the club, providing utility to token holders.
More specifically, through fan tokens, intended as digital tokens, many major sports clubs have found a new and innovative way to interact with their fans. In fact, each token holder can take advantage of a whole series of benefits, which tend to change according to the number of fan tokens owned.
The more fan tokens you have, the more access you will have to various matters affecting your favorite team. Returning to the benefits, they range from participating in events and meetings with footballers to participating in exclusive surveys and receiving prizes and rewards.
Conclusion
Fan tokens have revolutionized how fans can show love to their favorite sports team. It is undoubtedly the future of how sports organizations generate revenues and engage with their fans. Fan tokens help the team generate revenues and allow the fans to earn profits by actively engaging in the activities, thus increasing the token value. As we have seen in different cases, investors who buy a typical fan token get access to various activities which enriches their experiences as a fan of a sporting team.
It further allows them to win merchandise, get a chance to meet up with stars, and earn free tickets to events. What makes it more interesting are the voting rights that allow the fans to have a say in different decisions of the team. The voting topics may include team merchandise design, celebratory songs, match locations, and tourist bus design. Most Valuable Players for different categories may also be chosen through voting by fan token holders.
Investors can trade fan tokens on various crypto exchanges like Socios Fan Token Platform or Binance Fan Token platform. The specific value of fan tokens is directly related to the success of a sporting team in a particular sporting event. It also depends on the buzz the team creates through news, such as adding a legendary player to the team, etc. More and more teams are expected to introduce their own fan tokens with the passage of time. Considering the factors we just discussed, there is considerable potential for future fan tokens growth.
