Today Chiliz, the blockchain that underpins the Socios fan tokens, announced that French soccer club Paris Saint Germain (PSG) is becoming a validator on the Chiliz Chain. Web3 validators verify blockchain transactions and earn a fee for doing so. PSG plans to use its validator earnings to buy back fan tokens.
That said, so far PSG has released less than half of its total fan token supply. So it has the opportunity to raise additional funds by issuing more tokens in the future. Today its market capitalization is just under $30 million. In contrast, the Chiliz token has surpassed a $1 billion market capitalization.
The fan token has not always been kind to fans. The PSG price peaked at around $55 in April 2021, but its current value is just $3.64.
PSG and Chiliz have a history
PSG has played an important role in Chiliz’s history. It was the first club to launch a fan token in September 2018. When Lionel Messi joined the club in 2021, part of his package was paid for with PSG fan tokens. Being crypto savvy paid off, with the Crypto.com exchange becoming a sponsor the same year. Brilliantcrypto has since replaced the cryptocurrency exchange.
Often when corporations get involved in blockchains, they don’t run the validator node themselves. We wondered whether Chiliz would manage it. PSG responded that it will only build internal capabilities when it makes sense and otherwise work with professionals. In this case, it uses a node-as-a-service partner.
Late this summer the football club plans to host a hackathon to encourage developers to build applications based on the PSG fan tokens.
“By becoming a validator on the Chiliz Chain, we’re not just embracing the future of web3 sports; we’re actively designing it so that we can have a more direct relationship with our fans through web3 experiences. We will optimize our future engagements for network effects, amplifying the value and revenue each stakeholder can generate and experience within this new digital economy.
