Cryptocurrencies have been invading the football world this season and they aren’t showing any signs of letting up. Earlier this year, Gibraltar FC became the first club to pay its players using cryptos and Rimini FC 1912 became the first club to sell part of its ownership in cryptos. This surge of crypto activity in the football will bring crypto education to millions of people around the globe, helping to speed up the global mass adoption of digital currencies. In a crypto and footballing first, Avai FC is set to launch an ICO to help raise funds for the club’s future. The token sale starts on October 3rd and will last one calendar month.
Ethereum Blockchain Stepping In
Avai is planning to use an Ethereum blockchain in order to handle its ICO and new blockchain ticketing system. The new proposed blockchain ticketing system sounds very similar to the app UEFA has put in place for the Europa and Champions League. As such, it is designed to stop ticket touts reselling tickets at extortionate prices. According to the club’s whitepaper, this appears to be the only blockchain implementation during the project – not exactly linked to the tokens raised.
Is This an ICO or Crowdfunding?
The whitepaper on the club’s website highlights the key mechanics of how the sale will work. It will also address how the tokens can be spent, but it doesn’t explain how the tokens and blockchain application is connected. The tokens can be spent on club experiences – such as meeting players – with blockchain acting as the ticketing system. The token doesn’t benefit the blockchain and is 100% premined. This leads to the question, is it really just a crowdfunding campaign dressed up as an ICO? If so, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Brazil might have something to say about it.
Paris Saint-Germain Being More Cautious
Over in Europe, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is also running its own crypto token sale. However, PSG is not saying that the key uses of the funds raised will be to buy new players and maintain its position at football’s top table. PSG’s token sale is for a fan token rather than an ICO. Fans will use it to interact with the club, such as voting on new kit styles, music that is played around the ground on match day, and the lineups for charity games.
Premier Crypto Advertising from the Premier League
In England, a handful of top clubs – including Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester, and Crystal Palace – have signed a deal with eToro to advertise its new crypto trading platform. The deal was paid fully in Bitcoin, making it the first football advertising deal paid for solely with digital currencies. The Premier League is viewed by millions of fans from all over the globe, giving Bitcoin premier advertising potential.
While Avai is looking to make waves in the crypto industry, it needs to tread carefully. There is certainly a huge amount of potential for this ICO to fall foul of a regulatory body, landing the club in a whole heap of trouble as a result.
