Tokens tied to national soccer teams have failed to hold the attention of fans for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the prices of many other soccer-tied tokens have plummeted since the start of the tournament.
Between Portugal, Spain, Brazil and Argentina, their national team tokens have fallen between 60% and 88% in price since the start of the World Cup on November 20, according to CoinGecko.
And this despite the fact that Brazil, Argentina and Portugal reached the quarterfinals, while Spain was a strong candidate until they were eliminated on December 6.
In general, tokens react to immediate results: Spain’s SNFT token has dropped 39.1% in the last 24 hours after the team’s defeat against Morocco. However, Portugal’s POR token is also down 6.1% in the same period, despite beating Switzerland 6-1 in the round of 16, suggesting that tokens are less and less responsive to the success of partner teams.
Notably, these tokens reached their highs long before either team set foot on a soccer field in Qatar, suggesting that classic “buy the rumor, sell on the news” was in place.
The tokens of Portugal and Argentina reached their all-time highs on November 18, while those of Spain and Brazil did so two months earlier, on September 28.
Something similar happens with Chiliz (CHZ)the native token of the Socios token platform, which it reached its all-time high on November 20, but has since fallen 36%.
24-hour trade volumes for the tokens have also dropped sharply since inception, falling between 79% and 88% since November 20.
This class of tokens was originally designed to offer fans unique opportunities to interact with the teams they support, such as allowing users to vote on minor decisions, such as what should be written on the captain’s armband.
However, detractors of fan tokens see it differently, seeing the market as a predatory way for experienced traders to extract capital from enthusiastic fans.
Speaking to The Athletic in August 2021, Martin Calladine, author of The Ugly Game, a book exploring the dark side of FIFA’s relations with Qatar and its 2022 World Cup bid, offered a grim view of fan tokens.
“We see how the price of the tokens rises in anticipation of football events such as transfers or titles”, states, adding that “Traders cash in, prices plummet and fans are left with losses, victims of their enthusiasm for their clubs.”
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