Paris Saint-Germain signed an agreement in 2018 with Socios.com to create its first digital currency, becoming the first sports club to enter the world of cryptocurrencies.
The company was responsible for creating PSG Fan Tokens, a type of cryptocurrency created on the Chiliz$HZ blockchain that allows sports fans to access a wide range of benefits linked to the club and its activities. PSG fans can therefore participate in club decisions through voting, access exclusive promotions or buy VIP tickets.
With Lionel Messi‘s contract, which will see the Argentine paid 110 million euros net over three years, according to L’Equipe, PSG went a step further in its commitment to this virtual currency.
One of the most important pieces of news to come from this is that the agreement with Messi includes payments to the player in Fan Tokens, PSG‘s official currency, as Marc Armstrong recalled in an interview with MARCA.
Last September, a month after Messi‘s signing, the club signed a major sponsorship deal with crypto.com, a cryptocurrency exchange platform that already operates with Serie A and Formula 1 clubs. The three-year deal is estimated to bring the French club around 30m euros and will also be paid in its virtual currency.
The group was therefore the third with blockchain technology to join PSG, which is mainly used for cryptocurrencies and NFTs. PSG has also entered the world of NFTs or unique non-fungible tokens, digital assets certified through blockchain technology, by launching a thematic collection of these images by Parisian artist Ludo.
The arrival of Messi has boosted the value of the cryptocurrency at PSG. Even before Messi‘s arrival was finalised, its value had already grown by 43 percent and reached an all-time high on the day of his presentation, at 63.3 dollars, when its initial value was 3.57 dollars and this week’s was around 16 dollars, six more than the currency of Manchester City, who have the second most valuable crypto of all football clubs, and eight more than that of Barcelona.
According to Alexandre Dreyfus, CEO of Socios.com, the cryptocurrency could reach a market value of around 10,000 dollars in a few years’ time.
