French football giant Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is set to deepen its involvement in Web3 and SportFi by becoming a validator for the fan token blockchain network Chiliz. Chiliz founder Alexandre Dreyfus and PSG’s Web3 head Pär Helgosson made significant statements about the evolving partnership. PSG has become the first major football club to be a blockchain protocol validator and is preparing to reinvest the revenue earned from its validator to buy back PSG fan tokens.
What’s Happening at Chiliz?
Chiliz Chain stands out as the infrastructure that underpins Socios, a platform that issues and manages fan tokens for over 150 professional football clubs and sports teams across multiple codes. PSG was one of the first adopters of this technology and launched its fan token on Chiliz in September 2018.
The club aims to explore the broader opportunities in the cryptocurrency, Web3, and SportFi sectors. Helgosson, who recently took on the position of head of Web3 at the club, is leading efforts to explore alternative financial opportunities within the ecosystem.
Venture capital firm Animoca Brands joined Chiliz Chain as a validator for its proof-of-stake authority protocol in November 2023, following the protocol’s tokenomics model revamp. Chiliz introduced a new inflation-staking reward mechanism for CHZ holders and a transaction fee burning scheme EIP-1559 integration.
PSG and Blockchain Breakthrough
Helgosson stated that PSG plans to use the accrued revenue as a node validator to perform PSG fan token buybacks from public markets. The buybacks will be automated and executed through smart contracts and decentralized exchanges on the Chiliz Chain.
The program aims to increase the revenue generated from the club’s validator through transaction fees and supply inflation reinvested into the PSG fan token. The club expressed interest in replenishing its fan token reserves to create a self-sustaining economy:
“Our role as a node validator allows us to create a sustainable tokenomics model together, using the club’s profits to buy back fan tokens and reinvest in the fan ecosystem.”
Helgosson expects this move to offer rewards, new tools, functions, products, and services that will benefit PSG token holders, sponsors, and players. PSG and Chiliz are also planning a blockchain hackathon event at the club’s iconic Parc des Princes stadium during the summer. The event aims to attract developers to create decentralized applications and products involving PSG fan tokens on the Chiliz Chain.
