Great news for soccer and cryptocurrency fans, Cristiano Ronaldo has just received his first virtual currency fee! This news, quite surprising at first glance, shows once again that cryptocurrencies are increasingly being adopted in all fields. The world-renowned footballer is now the proud owner of 770 JUV fan tokens.
Cristiano Ronaldo paid in JUV fan tokens for his 770th goal!
Cristiano Ronaldo has received his first fee in JUV fan tokens, the cryptocurrency used by fans of Juventus Turin, the Italian team in which Cristiano Ronaldo has played since 2018. The world of crypto is gradually joining forces with that of sport. Various clubs have created their own cryptocurrencies. Some have fungible tokens, but others have created tokens in the form of NFTs, the famous non-fungible and therefore more valuable tokens. These tokens enable fans to issue collector’s cards. These tokens are called “Fan Tokens”, and Cristiano Ronaldo received no fewer than 770 tokens from his team, Juventus Turin.
Nicknamed the “goal machine”, Cristiano Ronaldo recently scored the 770th goal of his career. Until then, the record had been held by Brazil’s Pelé, who left his mark on the 50s and 70s with his exceptional footwork. A double record since, in addition to beating Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player to be paid in cryptocurrency. To mark the occasion, he was presented with a jersey celebrating his 770 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo received his reward of 770 JUV fan tokens just before his team Juventus Turin’s home defeat by Benevento on Sunday (1-0). We hope his record and the reward that went with it will console him.
Cristiano Ronaldo: initiator of crypto use in soccer?
In fact, many soccer teams already have their own cryptocurrency. So Cristiano Ronaldo is not the initiator of cryptocurrency use in soccer. In fact, these currencies are becoming increasingly important players in the interaction between fans and their clubs. Holders of these tokens can enjoy VIP benefits and participate in certain club decisions, notably by voting via the socios app. Buying tokens for their favorite club is a way for fans to get closer to their club.
Here are a few examples of fan tokens that have emerged in recent years:
PSG has had its own fan token, also named PSG, since 2018.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus Turin, meanwhile, acquired its JUV fan token in 2019.
FC Barcelona followed suit, launching its BAR fan token at the end of June 2020.
Manchester City, meanwhile, launched its CITY fan token this month.
This list is far from exhaustive. There are currently 24 professional soccer teams with their own cryptocurrencies. The Chiliz blockchain and its CHZ token underpin much of this ecosystem. Many teams have created their own tokens within this blockchain. Fan tokens on its system are said to be worth around $400 million. Manchester City, for its part, has launched Sorare, a start-up based on the Ethereum blockchain. Its CITY token is fungible. However, these derivatives will take the form of non-fungible tokens, making them far more valuable.
Fan token prices
The various fan tokens all have different prices. Currently, the Juventus Fan Token received by Cristiano Ronaldo is priced at 12.07 euros, and is only 759th on the market with its total market capitalization of 15,930,931 euros. At the current market price, Cristiano Ronaldo would therefore have received a reward of 9,293.9 euros for celebrating his 770th goal. Of course, as the Juventus Fan Token is a cryptocurrency, it remains extremely volatile, so this value is purely indicative. What’s more, the 770 fan tokens received by Cristiano Ronaldo remain a symbolic reward and not a real reward.
By way of comparison, the Paris Saint-Germain Fan Token is worth 16.13 euros and currently ranks 691st among cryptocurrencies. FC Barcelona’s BAR is the highest-priced fan token on our list, currently priced at 35.02 euros, making it 441st on the market. The Manchester City fan token is not yet listed.
We won’t list all the fan tokens available on the market here, but these few examples show that these are quite affordable cryptocurrencies for soccer fans who want to get started.
So, what does the future hold for our favorite teams’ cryptocurrencies?
The worlds of soccer and cryptocurrencies are not about to part ways. The 770 JUV fan tokens offered to Cristiano Ronaldo are surely the first of many. In fact, the profits made by fans are colossal. The Sorare platform, for example, recently sold a unique Cristiano Ronaldo collector’s card, in non-fungible token form, for 150 ETH, or $290,000 at the time of purchase.
As for teams with their own cryptocurrencies, there are a number of uses in store for them in the future. Some soccer teams are planning to tokenize their players’ transfer fees. The Vasco de Gama team in Brazil will shortly be launching a sale of 500,000 cryptocurrency tokens. Buyers will acquire a fraction of the rights to FIFA’s solidarity mechanism. These rights will only apply to 12 of the team’s young hopefuls. As a reminder, FIFA’s solidarity mechanism allows clubs that have participated in the training and education of a player to receive compensation if the player is transferred internationally before the end of his contract. Holders of Vasco de Gama tokens will therefore receive part of this compensation.
Last but not least, why not imagine rewarding soccer players in cryptocurrency at a later date? Cristiano Ronaldo received his JUV fan tokens as a reward for celebrating his 770th goal. But, with the growing adoption of cryptocurrencies and the seeming popularity of fan tokens, it doesn’t seem crazy to imagine remunerating players in cryptocurrency in the future.
