Many of the biggest coins are down more than 90% from all-time highs. In the run-up to the grand final, the Spain National Football Token (SNFT) had surged to highs of $0.039 — amid hopes history was about to be made. But in the three days that followed, there’s been a dramatic drop of 43.5%, with this token now languishing at lows of $0.022. Figures from CoinMarketCap suggest the all-time high for SNFT was $0.8633, a record set in September 2022.
Less than two weeks on, and it’s now lost 97.4% of its value. The five biggest football fan tokens — led by Paris Saint-Germain, FC Barcelona, and Manchester City — have suffered stomach-churning declines in value. PSG is at $2.83, down 95.4% from a record high of $61.23 in August 2021. BAR has hemorrhaged 97.5% of its value in the past three years.
Meanwhile, CITY is nursing a loss of 93.7%. Each launch of the fan tokens is often accompanied by high-profile, glowing endorsements from soccer stars. Lionel Messi’s move to PSG saw part of his fee paid in fan tokens, and ARG had rallied hard in the run-up to that fateful match but has since fallen by close to 50%. While club sponsorships have nothing to do with fan tokens, some critics are alarmed at the trend of crypto firms sponsoring football clubs — primarily because the volatility of digital assets makes them akin to gambling.
The chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Dame Caroline Dinenage, expressed concern about these digital assets, mainly because they only allow supporters to vote on arbitrary things, such as the songs that are played after a goal is scored. Companies involved in issuing fan tokens argue that they are a valuable tool for fan engagement, stating that “fan token holders received more than 24,000 matchday tickets and over 1,000 items of merchandise last season, and continue to engage with their club in a unique new way.”