FC Barcelona plans to develop native cryptocurrency and Metaverse

A new metaverse, crypto and NFT collection is in the works for 26-time LaLiga champions FC Barcelona.

A recent announcement from Barcelona president Joan Laporta confirms that the team is working on a Barca metaverse, with the next plan being to launch a club-exclusive cryptocurrency.

Laporta said an NFT collection is also in the works, speaking during the first day of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, ​​Spain. Barca sought to create an NFT collection in partnership with Ownix ​​in November 2021 but withdrew due to the arrest of a businessman with connections to the company.

Italian giants AC Milan, Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich and top French club Paris Saint-Germain have entered the NFT market.

Regarding the club’s choice to go the metaverse alone, Laporta said, “We are developing our ‘metaverse’ and have declined to be affiliated with a crypto company. We wanted to create our own cryptocurrency and we understood that we had to do it for ourselves; have enough talent for that. With blockchain, great opportunities and business opportunities emerge.”

He went on to say that the players are on board and that as a modern club using social media, there are clauses in the players’ contracts for the NFT and the metaverse.

Barcelona did not rush the court for funding from crypto exchanges, rejecting an offer of 70 million euros before agreeing to a deal with music streaming service Spotify, replacing its longtime sponsor. Rakuten. The anxiety surrounding the volatility of the crypto industry has led the club to reject crypto companies as main sponsors. Now, however, Laporta believes catching up with innovation is the future path the clubs want to be a part of.

“Barca has always been innovating in the use and adaptation of new technologies, and we want it to continue to do so; We know that blockchain is going to be very important in the coming years and the club doesn’t want to miss that.”

Barca wants to be able to “survive financially” against other football clubs, which have the backing of large corporations and foreign investors. “We are different because we exist financially from what we can generate through the sports industry,” Laporta said.

How to buy new cryptocurrency?

The team has previously partnered with Socios and Chiliz to release fan tokens to the public. Chiliz is a blockchain fan voting startup, while Socios.com is a rewards platform. By using the $CHZ digital currency, fans can purchase Barca fan tokens, granting them the opportunity to vote on certain club decisions and the opportunity to earn rewards .

It is not yet clear what the team’s new cryptocurrency will be able to buy, whether it will be a fan token like the $CHZ token or used to buy tickets and club merchandise. The new NFT collection will be used as part of a project to “help the club financially.”

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