As Argentina faced Saudi Arabia in the FIFA World Cup on Tuesday, the value of the Argentine Football Association’s crypto fan token ARG fell precipitously, dropping from about $7.20 (roughly Rs. 600) at the start of the game to a low of $4.96 (roughly Rs. 400). Argentina’s defeat was so severe that many supporters decided to sell their tokens, which were produced by the crypto firm Chiliz in official collaboration with the Argentine Football Association and launched on Chiliz’s exchange Socios. ARG’s price has marginally risen to about $5.68 (roughly Rs. 460) since the match ended.
After a shocking 2-1 loss for Argentina’s national team, led by superstar Lionel Messi, the $ARG token plummeted more than 30 percent to $4.96 (roughly Rs. 400) on Tuesday evening, according to CoinGecko. When the token was created in May 2021, ARG sold for roughly $4.30 (roughly Rs. 350).
The token, one of several digital crypto assets created on the Chiliz blockchain by Socios.com in partnership with football teams, gives buyers a vote in some decisions made by sponsoring teams and access to rewards. For the uninitiated, ARG is a particular kind of Ethereum-compatible ERC-20 token which requires fans to first purchase Chiliz’s CHZ token, which is down 17 percent over the last week before they can swap it for any other token on Socios. The fan token can be purchased on a number of popular exchanges like OKX, Huobi, and DigiFinex.
Over the past year, a significant number of the world’s largest clubs, such as FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain F.C., and Manchester City F.C., as well as some national teams, have partnered with Socios.com and Bitci to create fan tokens. The tokens have quickly become a new source of revenue for teams.
The tokens, although they don’t represent ownership in teams, are a way for investors to bet on the success of their favourite team. The value of these fan tokens can fluctuate greatly in value and fans can lose money, especially as the wider crypto market faces the fallout of crypto exchange FTX’s financial collapse earlier this month.
