Fans of some of the top-seeded teams are dissatisfied with the outcomes, which is affecting the value of non-fungible and fan tokens even though unexpected results may be what makes the 2022 World Cup great.
Fans have faced the burden of unexpected defeats and surprises, despite their eager anticipation of each game. Since the competition began, there has been a decline in the buying and selling volume of these tokens.
The “engage to earn access” models on which fan tokens are founded provide users with the opportunity to learn more about their favorite teams by participating in a variety of in-app activities, such as games and quizzes. These ideas were developed in collaboration with official soccer federations and platforms like Socios and BitCi. The level of influence fans have in team decisions is determined by the individual squads, but in all cases, the overarching objective is to maintain viewership and show appreciation to the most devoted followers.
Fan tokens function similarly to loyalty tokens, incentive tokens, or contribution tier tokens in that higher donors receive more favorable treatment. The top pre-game winner was the Argentine Football Association Fan Token, the first major national soccer team NFT. It’s worth quadrupled from $4.40 a month before the World Cup to $8.40 at its zenith. Currently, it may be sold for more than $11 million. Even though the club has advanced to the quarterfinals, the token’s value has dropped to $2.74.
It’s possible that the Argentine currency did well at initially because of the growing interest in digital tokens and currencies across South America. In the year after Argentina adopted its own form of fan tokens, other countries followed suit. The value of fan tokens is highly variable and typically depends on how well a team is performing.
The token representing the Spanish national team has been hit the hardest, losing 55 percent of its value after Tuesday’s round of 16 loss to Morocco. According to September statistics from CoinMarketCap, the price peaked at 80 cents when the squad defeated Portugal in the 2022-2023 European Cup. In the time since CoinGecko reports that its value has dropped to 5 cents.
Even though Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals by defeating Switzerland with six goals, the team’s play has been disappointing and has weakened the team’s supporter base. The token was worth $6.25 before the tournament began but is now only worth $2.25.
In contrast, several collections of soccer-related non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have weathered price variations due to game outcomes. Visa’sV +0.6% collection with Crypto.com has sold over 2,471 pieces, earning $10,900. The price of artwork representing other lands like the United Kingdom and Australia can range from $10 to $1,000,000+. The artworks are part of a series called “Masters of Movement,” and they were created using recordings of soccer players’ motions during a brief game inside the FIFA Fan Zone, where spectators can watch the World Cup. The resulting visuals for each game are referred to as NFT and are created by these activity maps.
More than 13,000 visitors have stopped by the Visa pop-up shop in the FIFA Fan Zone. The images taken by the participant’s match can either be minted as NFTs or sent as digital files.
In comparison to this year’s record-breaking digital token sales, some of which were over $1 million, the price of a Visa Masters of Movement line, for example, is only $10 to $14. And they’re doing it with conventional dollars rather than virtual currency. The primary goal of this initiative is to familiarize a wide audience with NFTs and the bitcoin ecosystem.
Visa’s senior v.p. of global sponsorships, Andrea Fairchild said “The crypto native audience definitely is excited because for them, it’s validation. See the space and they see the potential.”
To entice those with an interest in cryptocurrencies, some people are offering NFTs as prizes instead of traditional currency. GMUNK, Bradley G. Munkowitz’s 10,000-piece collection, is partnering with Coca-ColaKO +0.4% and Crypto.com to provide NFTs to fans following each game. Entrants need just provide an email address to be considered.
“It goes with what is core to the World Cup, which is memorabilia,” adds Kalifowitz. Even though most of our partner providers aren’t crypto experts, they recognize the opportunity in this market.
Companies have produced limited-edition World Cup shirts, mugs, and Panini’s renowned play sticker albums since the tournament’s kickoff. The weeks leading up to the World Cup saw several sponsors declare that they would be utilizing NFTs to create collections of unique products that would be kept on a blockchain and displayed to an estimated 5 billion spectators.
In March, Crypto.com became the exclusive cryptocurrency trading platform sponsor of the 2022 World Cup and is now the host of several NFT partnerships. The company’s chief marketing officer, Steven Kalifowitz, said that the company’s sponsorship “goes with what is core to the World Cup, which is memorabilia.”
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