Barcelona FC Eyes NFTs and the Metaverse after Fan Token Surge

Key Insights:

• Barcelona FC President Joan Laporta discloses club ambitions for greater fan engagement.
• Increased activity in the digital asset space has seen Barcelona FC’s Fan Token (BAR) surge in recent days.
• UEFA and Fan Token platform Socios partnership suggests more activity to come.

Spanish football and cryptos have had a long-lasting relationship. In early 2021, Barcelona FC partnered with Binance to deliver fans with FC Barcelona fan tokens (BAR). The club was among the first to launch a fan token and is looking to lead the way again.

Barcelona football club’s interest in digital assets and virtuality has expanded this year.

Barcelona FC Eyes NFTs and the Metaverse

This week, team president Joan Laporta discussed the club exploring blockchain, NFTs, and the Metaverse. The club is reportedly looking for opportunities to deliver growth and sustainability.

Barcelona FC’s president also talked of an NFT launch, plans to develop a Barca crypto, and other means to build fan engagement.

This week’s news coincided with a breakout day for the Barcelona FC fan token (BAR).

UEFA and Socios Collaboration Drives Barcelona FC’s BAR Token

In February, news of the Socios fan token platform partnering with UEFA to bring NFTs has driven demand for football fan tokens.

The Socios team announced on Twitter that “UEFA club Competition Fan Tokens are coming to the Socios App.” According to the announcement, “Fan Tokens will be exclusively available for free to Fan Tokens holders of clubs participating in European football competitions including the Champions League and Europa League.”

.@ChampionsLeague, @EuropaLeague & @europacnfleague Fan Tokens will be exclusively available for free on the Socios App.https://t.co/RUVbei2K45#BeMoreThanAFan

— Socios.com (@socios) February 15, 2022

BAR rallied by 19.74% against the U.S Dollar on Monday, following a 16.93% breakout on Sunday. The rally to a February high of $9.75 came in response to Barcelona FC President’s comments.

Following Monday’s breakout, BAR rose by 8.99% on Tuesday. The latest rally brings December’s high of $12.785 into play.

Last month, Barcelona FC parted ways with the team’s main sponsor Rakuten in favor of Spotify (SPOT). Crypto-related names Binance (BNB), FTX (FTT), and Polkadot (DOT) were in the running for the coveted sponsorship deal.

Binance came up short despite having only recently signed a deal to sponsor Argentina’s national soccer team and launching Barcelona FC’s very own fan token.

At the time of the decision, media outlets reported Barcelona FC citing a lack of confidence in the crypto sector and a lack of economic solidity as reasons for rejecting the crypto exchange offers.

Barcelona’s ambitions to enter the NFT space and virtuality suggest that some form of collaboration with crypto-related firms is on the horizon.