‘Normie degens’ enter crypto token rewards for sports fans

The worlds of crypto and sports share very similar characteristics: passion, deep friendships, and tight-knit communities united by a singular commitment to “the team.”

In the past few years, these two states have become intertwined, mixing in unexpected ways. What about the result? A growing underground community where crypto technology is becoming a tool to fuel – and even amplify – sports fanaticism.

The idea of ​​combining sports and crypto products started in early 2014 with projects like Jetcoin trying to simulate athletes. However, the concept was premature and ultimately failed due to limited athlete participation and a lack of compelling use cases for fans.

The 2017 Bitcoin bull market, driven primarily by retail investors, introduced blockchain applications to a mainstream audience. Since then, crypto sports-related products have emerged in formats such as NFT collectibles, sports tokens, and fan tokens. Sports digital aggregator platforms such as NFL-licensed Hashletes emerged that year, but didn't really take off until NBA Top Shot became very popular in late 2020 and early 2021.

In the year Created in 2018 by Chiles (CHZ) and managed by Socios.com, they represent a limited group of fan tokens. Many teams from different sports have tokens, however, they are especially well-accepted by major soccer teams (what Americans call “soccer teams”) such as Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Galatasaray, the Argentina national team, and Barcelona.

Users must purchase certain fan tokens to participate in a gamification program related to real-life sports events. From attending official matches in VIP areas, meeting their sporting idols and voting on the next official team jersey design, matching enough Fan Tokens rewards their participation with points that unlock various benefits.

Socios.com invites you to magazine one of these events: take the field at the Atlético de Madrid Riyad Air Metropolitano Stadium. Supporter Token holders get the unique opportunity to play a game on the same pitch where great players like Antoine Griezmann compete every week.

Crypto meets sports: Fan tokens turn into experiences

Alberto Diaz, a loyal Atlético de Madrid fan and owner of the fan sign, told the magazine that he spends up to two hours a day interacting with long surveys, match predictions and other games in order to earn enough points to participate in these forums. Special events.

Although he is a loyal Atlético de Madrid fan, he now admits that he keeps a close eye on the Turkish league to improve his prediction of matches between Turkish teams and increase his prize points.

When he gets a spot in his favorite team's official season photo, his determination is planted. “A lot of my friends didn't believe it was true,” he said. “They thought AI created it.”

Like other cryptocurrencies, Fan Tokens are traded on the open market and fluctuate in value. However, many interviewees say they don't care about valuations in the crypto space. They mainly engage with crypto to use Tok to enjoy their benefits. They care more about the use case than profitability.

Some fans are as obsessed with tokens as the team

Some fans seem as obsessed with fan tokens as the team, constantly engaging with the platform to unlock special experiences. Jose Miguel Rubio, also known as Kemi, says he's fully committed to the pro-token ecosystem — and is actively turning others onto it.

In addition to running his home automation business, Kemi channels his passion for the Chiliz community through the FanFanToken YouTube and X channels, where he created his own token, FANFAN. Funded by him, these accounts aim to educate fans on how tokens can work to their advantage.

Enthusiasm for this ecosystem inspired him to launch a memecoin stock inspired by Spanish soccer teams on the Chiliz chain – each mascot has its own token.

With a self-deprecating laugh, Kemi admits that obsession can seem odd. Kemi says he sometimes “feels guilty about spending more hours in the fan token ecosystem than he should on his family business.” However, Kemi is not alone and the whole family is on board.

While owner Miriam Suarez doesn't consider herself a die-hard sports fan, she became engrossed in the fan token ecosystem after enjoying a fan token experience at a game in the VIP area and was “all in.” He said.

Now she has developed a habit of completing daily match predictions, surveys and other tasks while hunting for Fan Token reward points during breaks between popular TV shows.

“Most people spend hours on social media or playing Candy Crush; I spend hours on fan tokens. What's the problem?” she said.

Her desire for a prize reaches new heights when she stumbles upon an unexpected strategy: predicting the results of a rugby match – a sport she knew nothing about until fan signs became a part of her life. She used to bet on sports because there was less competition between fans.

Kemi and Miriam are token ambassadors in their extended family. In Spanish culture, it is customary to give a wedding gift of more than 100 euros. But for Miriam's cousin's wedding, they decided to give a more original and personal gift, “Giving 100 Atlético de Madrid fan tokens to the bride atm”, explaining how he is a supporter of the club and in chemistry. Tokens work.

Changing in the dressing room at Riyadh's Metropolitan Stadium, Kimi's son Ariel Rubio told the magazine that his biggest dream is to visit the UK's best football sites, creating a path based on the potential experiences offered by fan tokens.

The family said they are saving up reward points to make Ariel's dream come true.

A gateway to experiences beyond the reach of fan tokens

In Rotherham, UK, soccer fan and Manchester City supporter Georgiana Anitay says Fan Tokens have allowed her family to meet new people and experience things they otherwise wouldn't have otherwise.

Georgiana works as a customer consultant for Dyno, a plumbing and drainage company, and her husband, Daniel Annette, works as a machine operator and works on clutches for Schaeffler Automotive.

Georgiana works part-time for four hours a day while taking care of her three-year-old son, David. She said she earns 1000 pounds ($1260) a month from this event, which is not enough to attend football events due to their high cost.

“I never in my life dreamed of paying for a ticket and a stage box until you learned the trick behind fan tokens,” says Georgiana, “or meeting celebrities.”

Although she can't buy a lot of Fan Tokens at once, Annette buys a small but steady amount each month to accumulate reward points. She said that thanks to her commitment, her family was able to visit Manchester City's stadium more often and became part of the club's immediate family.

“I believe that no money can buy the feeling and respect of being there.”

In addition to enjoying the experience she once thought impossible, she values ​​the friendships and relationships she has made.

“I'm a normal person,” says Georgiana happily. And I'm sharing a table with important people. “She was surprised to learn that these people were so friendly and caring, as if we had known each other for years.

Sports and fan signs are a mix of heads.

We have created a WhatsApp group where we will announce that we are going to a certain match so that we can meet again,” she says.

She finds it enriching to sit next to people from different backgrounds and make connections along the way.

On one memorable occasion, she found herself sitting in a box next to a lawyer for Brazilian team Sao Paulo FC. The two struck up a conversation and after connecting over their shared love of the sport, he made an unexpected proposal.

If Georgiana can get a ticket to a Sao Paulo FC game with fans' tokens, she won't have to worry about accommodation – her family can stay at the house, he said.

Before her son turned one year old, he had already participated in a soccer match at a fan token event. The teenager may have met more famous soccer players and visited more stadiums than many adult soccer fans.

However, despite a good head start, the teenager may find it challenging to overtake developer and digital immortal Fabian Benjamin, who has traveled the world using fan tokens.

Global Fans: Touring with fans around the world.

Austrian Fabian says he has lost count of how many practices he has participated in. “Maybe more than forty events, I'm not sure.”

He has visited many famous stadiums including Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan, Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona among others. One of those experiences that stood out was a special birthday present he gave himself – a trip to Rio de Janeiro's famous Maracana Stadium to watch a local derby, which doubled as the national championship final.

It mainly refers to tie-the-pitch events, where fan sign holders can play matches on the official pitch where the team regularly competes. Fabian has taken full advantage of these tokens as a digital nomad, playing in stadiums around the world.

One memorable experience was attending an event at FC Barcelona's Camp Nou, where he attended a training session at the same famous La Masia training ground where Lionel Messi developed and developed.

Fabian explained that he bought fan tokens for each club to access these events, which unlock prediction games and polls that allow him to accumulate reward points.

He only spends 20 minutes a day on the app, but his most regular and personal record is a 380-day streak of daily logins. That streak ended when his phone went out for two days during a trip in the Bolivian desert.

“The daily run went to zero, now back at 290 days. I'll get my record back.

The daily entry line does not award any additional reward points, he said. “I'm competing with myself.”

Daniel Ramírez-Escudero is a journalist who has been immersed in crypto since the beginning of 2017 and has many years of experience in the media industry. He is a crypto junky, passionate about geopolitics and interested in the financial, philosophical and technological revolution brought about by Bitcoin.