One of soccer’s living legends is delving deeper into the world of crypto. Lionel Messi has signed a deal reportedly worth $20 million to promote fan token platform Socios on the world’s stage.
As a brand ambassador, Messi will participate in several promotional and educational campaigns. The first campaign’s tagline is “be more,” and will be used to onboard users to the Socios platform.
Decrypt has reached out to Socios to confirm the details of additional marketing campaigns as well as the price tag for the agreement. This article will be updated following a response.
“Socios.com exists to enhance the fan experience, to enable fans to ‘be more.’ I’m proud to join Socios.com’s mission to create a more connected and rewarding future for fans around the world,” said Messi in a prepared statement.
Socios’ fan tokens are Ethereum-based cryptocurrencies tied to popular soccer teams. Paris Saint-Germain, the French team that Messi plays for, currently has a Socios-based fan token under the ticker PSG. The PSG token is currently up roughly 1.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.
Other teams on the platform include AS Roma, Arsenal, Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus, AC Milan, and many others.
What are Socios’ fan tokens?
Fan tokens are very similar to governance tokens in the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), with holders enjoying privileges such as exclusive benefits and voting rights.
Holders of fan tokens receive additional VIP rewards attached to the respective teams, as well as other types of promotions. These tokens also give holders the ability to vote on things like the introduction music before kick-off or even which jersey a team will wear for matches.
On April 16, for instance, holders of Arsenal’s AFC fan token will be able to vote on what the Gunners will wear during their match against Southampton. They can choose between the team’s third away jersey or its primary away jersey.
Despite the promised innovation, regulators have not been as enthused about fan tokens as its promoters.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently banned advertisements promoting Arsenal’s fan token.
The ASA said the adverts “trivialised investment in cryptoassets and took advantage of consumers’ inexperience or credulity” and “failed to illustrate the risk of the investment,” as well as not making it clear that the ‘token’ was a crypto asset.”
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