Harry Clynch

Football’s dangerous love affair with crypto

Inter Milan are now sponsored by online fan token creator Socios (photo: Getty)

The value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and digital assets more generally, is a controversial topic at the moment. Some dismiss decentralised finance as nothing more than a fad and a bubble, while for others we are on the cusp of a ‘monetary revolution’. For what it’s worth, my own view of crypto is somewhere down the middle. The blockchain technology which underpins crypto could be potentially transformative if used properly. But often this innovation is tarnished by the many dodgy cryptocurrencies that have emerged which have no real usefulness or value. Often issued by shady cryptoexchanges with questionable business practices, these are nothing more than high-risk speculative assets – if not outright scams – which almost inevitably lead to vulnerable consumers losing their money.

And there is a particular problem with these companies and products at the moment. A worrying trend has emerged recently. Faced with widespread regulatory pressure, many cryptoexchanges are investing in staggeringly expensive marketing campaigns – and their focus has often been on the world’s top footballers and elite clubs.

The agenda of these cryptoexchanges is pretty obvious. They want to glamourise what is often a dangerous industry, legitimise products which largely remain completely unregulated, and persuade fans – especially young men – to gamble their money on highly speculative products which they probably don’t fully understand.

The relationship between football and cryptoexchanges like Binance is corporate greed and irresponsibility at its very worst

Binance, by far the world’s largest cryptoexchange, is leading the field on this. Barely a day goes by without the company announcing a new partnership with some titan of world football. Binance Uruguay posts videos of Luis Suarez using the platform. Binance Colombia proudly boasts that national hero James Rodriguez is an apparent user – while skirting over the fact that the platform has been suspended in the country.

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