The massive French football team Paris Saint-Germain said that it will use the money it makes to regularly purchase back its PSG fan tokens by acting as a network validator for the Chiliz Chain blockchain, which houses them.
While sports teams have dabbled in cryptocurrency over the years with fan tokens that can be exchanged for sports experiences and souvenirs, this is the first time a club is participating as a blockchain validator. Blockchain node administrators, or validators, oversee the network’s security by approving smart contracts and verifying transactions. Validators receive payment for operating a node in return.
The team unveiled its fan token in September 2018 and is presently leading Ligue 1 in France. Using statistics from CoinMarketCap, the token’s market cap is currently $28 million. PSG will be able to “regularly refresh” its fan token reserves thanks to the buy-back programme, which will also assist in creating a viable digital market around them, according to Chiliz.
Paris Saint-Germain’s head of Web3, Pär Helgosson, said in a statement, “We will optimise our future engagements for network effects, amplifying the value and revenue each stakeholder can generate and experience within this new digital economy.” In addition to FC Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus, Arsenal, Inter Milan, and AC Milan, other well-known football teams that have tokens on Chiliz are the following.
Additionally, Chiliz and Paris Saint-Germain announced that they will be co-hosting a hackathon event at their Parc Des Princes in the upcoming months.