FC Barcelona’s Gerard Piqué Joins The NFT Hype
Fantasy Football website Sorare has welcomed its new Strategic Advisor, soccer icon Gerard Piqué. The famous player has also made a significant investment in the non-fungible tokens (NFT) platform.
Millions Invested By The New Strategic Advisor
In another crypto-soccer-related venture, FC Barcelona superstar Gerard Piqué has joined the NFT platform Sorare as a Strategic Advisor. According to an official announcement, one of the most distinguished and accomplished players has also made a significant investment in the NFT website.
Although the publication does not specify the investment amount, media outlets have reported that the seed investment is approximately $8.5 million, and it comes from the soccer star and the Cassius family fund.
Based on blockchain technology, the company focuses on sports audiences, allowing fans to trade and collect NFTs of soccer players from top leagues worldwide using digital cards.
Piqué’s latest endeavor towards the virtual side of sports is far from being the only one. Barcelona’s iconic defender has participated in several other media and entertainment initiatives engaging technology, including a project for modernizing the Davis Cup.
The NFT investment is led by the US-based fund Cassius Family, with Piqué cooperating to include some of the best sports leagues in the world.
“With Gerard on board, we’ll be working together to onboard the top 20 leagues in the world. Gerard’s investment will help us expand our global presence to reach more football fans around the world”, reads Sorare’s announcement.
FC Barcelona supporters have some history with digital assets. In June, the prominent soccer club released its official Barça Fan Tokens. The project used the networks of blockchain platforms Chiliz and Socios, selling the whole 600,000 tokens priced at 2EUR each, in just a few hours.
NFTs and the Future of Digital Sports
Sorare’s efforts towards collections of digital sports cards have seen quite an increase in popularity lately, especially from the fantasy soccer industry. Recent applications include onboarding a fanbase from all over the world and taking advantage of new economic opportunities with NFT applications.
As CryptoPotato reported, Germany’s champions FC Bayern Munich recently entered the blockchain-based virtual soccer whirlpool. The sports club joined Sorare after another similar collaboration from 2019 when it announced a partnership with blockchain platform Stryking Entertainment to promote digital collectibles of Bayern’s players. The cards were part of a fantasy league-style challenge, both collectible and playable.
Major European soccer clubs Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have also joined the digital sports entertainment environment. Recently, both teams launched their fan tokens on Binance Launchpool after the leading cryptocurrency exchange expanded its partnership with Chiliz. The blockchain fintech provider for sports and entertainment is already in partnerships with some of the most distinguished teams, including soccer giants Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Galatasary, AS Roma, and Atletico de Madrid.
Featured Image Courtesy of FCBarcelona
