Football clubs have potentially made hundreds of millions of pounds selling controversial crypto “fan tokens”.

 

Analysis commissioned by BBC News estimates more than £262m ($350m) has been spent on virtual currencies. Some of the tokens are marketed as offering real-world perks to the buyer. But critics say these perks are insignificant – one offered the chance to vote for songs to be played in stadiums – and clubs have insufficient protection for supporters.

So far, across the five major European leagues, 24 different clubs have launched or are considering fan tokens, including eight Premier League sides. Most offer tokens akin to a club-specific crypto-currency – virtual coins can be bought and sold and their value rise and falls depending on supply and demand.

Some clubs, such as Manchester City, also sell digital collectibles known as NFTs (non-fungible tokens).

Most of the clubs offering fan tokens have signed up to a company called Socios that organizes the initial sale and subsequent trading of the virtual coins – but other platforms, including Binance and Bitci, are growing too.

Socios told BBC News it had sold $270m-300m worth of coins through its app. It would not say how much money goes directly to clubs.

Buyers must first convert their money into the company’s own crypto-currency, Chiliz.

The research, by crypto-analysts Protos, suggests many buyers are speculatively trading their tokens like other crypto-currencies in an attempt to make money.

But the value of many fan tokens had decreased since they were initially sold by the clubs.

BBC News asked every Premier League team and some major European sides about their plans for, and views on, the new trend.

Only one was happy to comment.

A Brighton and Hove Albion spokesman said: “We have not sold these products and have no plans to enter these markets.”