{"id":9298,"date":"2021-10-07T08:23:38","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T12:23:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/?p=9298"},"modified":"2021-10-07T08:23:38","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T12:23:38","slug":"fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cointelegraph.com\/magazine\/2021\/10\/07\/fungible-fan-tokens-forming-proxy-market-day-trade-sports-teams-at-high-valuations","title":{"rendered":"Fan tokens: Day trading your favorite sports team"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the pandemic separating fans from their stadiums and sports clubs from their revenues, fan tokens are now big players in the game, helping teams generate revenue and bringing fans together again.<\/b><\/p>\n

Though stadium seats in some countries have been filled with paper cut-outs of fans to present a well-intentioned yet creepy facade of normality during the pandemic, the distance between the teams and their followers has grown farther apart. One solution is found in sports fan tokens. Through fan tokens, many fans are able to feel a more direct connection to their teams \u2014 emotionally and financially.<\/span><\/p>\n

Broadly understood, fan tokens are digital assets connected to the fan experience. They come in two distinct varieties \u2014 fungible and nonfungible.<\/span><\/p>\n

So far on the fungible side, dozens of European soccer teams are associated with actively traded \u201cfan currencies\u201d or \u201cfancoins,\u201d whose sales have brought in over $200 million in Covid-year revenues. Unlike nonfungible tokens where each token is unique, each unit of fungible tokens like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or Dogecoin is the same as any other \u2014 like dollars.<\/span><\/p>\n

Malta-based blockchain sports firm Chiliz and its fan engagement platform, Socios, are the undisputed market leaders pushing the fungible fan token\/fan currency business model with the help of over 160 staff. With a <\/span>new office in New York<\/span><\/a>, Chiliz is looking to further disrupt the sports industry through partnerships with the likes of National Football League (NFL), National Basketball Association (NBA), National Hockey League (NHL), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and more.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Fan tokens are taking the sporting world by storm. (Pexels)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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In five years, Chiliz and Socios\u2019 CEO Alexandre Dreyfus imagines \u201chundreds, potentially thousands, of major sporting organizations and some of the biggest entertainment franchises from film and music fully embracing\u201d fungible fan tokens as \u201ca core part of their digital engagement strategy.\u201d This means that the potential of the fan token phenomenon goes far beyond professional sports, and can be expected to impact other areas of entertainment including music, with <\/span>Kpop Fan Token<\/span><\/a> as an early example.<\/span><\/p>\n

From passive to active<\/h4>\n

Fan tokens, Dreyfus believes, will \u201ctransition passive fans into active fans through transactional fan engagement,\u201d giving the sports teams in the post-physical world \u201ca powerful revenue stream.\u201d Soon, the company will be adding NFT\u2019s to their strategy as a likely next step, considering entertainment figures like <\/span>Paris Hilton<\/span><\/a> have already done so. He adds:
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\u201cWe believe fan tokens are the biggest new trend in the industry and that this will be widely recognized as we add hundreds more partners in the future and millions more fans embrace them.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Fungible fan tokens, however, have no clear precedent. These fan currencies are forging a new path.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\"Fan<\/p>\n

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In blockchain terminology, fungible fan tokens are termed as \u201cutility tokens,<\/span>\u201d an apt description as they have undeniable utility as part of “gamifying” the fan experience. Purchasing and using tokens allows fans to materially show their support and congregate in online communities where they can play a small part in running the club by voting for proposals (regarding things like what music will be played during a match), join draws for merchandise and even interact with the team directly. <\/span><\/p>\n

Juventus fan Giuseppe Bognanni told Reuters that, \u201cIt\u2019s nice that the song you voted for is the one you hear, and you think, \u2018I participated in that.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Priority entrance for @socios<\/a> Fan Token holders at San Siro. @chiliz<\/a> #bemorethanafan<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/1xxIQcdtrI<\/a><\/p>\n

— Alexandre Dreyfus (@alex_dreyfus) September 16, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n