Paris Saint-Germain begins Web3 drive as a new blockchain validator for Chiliz Chain

French football giant Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) is set to deepen its Web3 and SportFi involvement by becoming a validator for fan token blockchain Chiliz.

Cointelegraph recently traveled to Paris to speak exclusively to Chiliz founder Alexandre Dreyfus and PSG head of Web3 Pär Helgosson about the evolving partnership.

PSG becomes the first major football club to become a blockchain protocol validator and is set to reinvest revenue derived from its validator to buy back PSG fan tokens. The move is touted to create a self-sustaining digital economy for the club and its fan base.

The Chiliz Chain is the infrastructure underpinning Socios, the platform that issues and manages fan tokens of over 150 professional football clubs and sports teams across multiple codes. PSG was an early adopter of the technology and launched its fan token on Chiliz in September 2018.

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The club intends to explore opportunities in the broader cryptocurrency, Web3 and SportFi space. Helgosson, who took up the club’s recently created head of Web3 position, spearheads efforts to explore alternative financial opportunities in the ecosystem.

Venture capital firm Animoca Brands joined Chiliz Chain as a validator of its proof-of-stake authority protocol in November 2023 after the protocol revamped its tokenomics model. Chiliz introduced a new inflation-staking rewards mechanism for CHZ holders and the integration of the transaction fee protocol burning scheme EIP-1559.

PSG gets first shot at token buy-back mechanism

Helgosson told Cointelegraph that PSG will use its accrued revenue as a node validator to carry out PSG fan token buybacks from public marketplaces. The buy-backs will be automated and executed by smart contracts through its validator and on decentralized exchanges on the Chiliz Chain.

The program is aimed to increase revenue from the club’s validator through gas fees and supply inflation that are reinvested into the PSG fan token. The club is interested in refreshing its fan token reserves to create a self-sustaining economy:

“We’re aiming to build a sustainable tokenomics model together where the club, because of our role as a node validator, can use the profits to buy back fan tokens and use them to reinvest back into the fan ecosystem.”

Helgosson says move is expected to provide rewards, new utilities, functions, products and services that will benefit PSG tokenholders, sponsors and players.

PSG and Chiliz are also planning a blockchain hackathon hosted at the club’s iconic Parc des Princes stadium in the summer. The event aims to attract developers to build decentralized applications and products incorporating PSG fan tokens on the Chiliz Chain.

An alternative for sports organizations

Dreyfus tells Cointelegraph that PSG’s move to become a validator could be a catalyst for other clubs to follow suit and better understand how the ecosystem’s tokenomics work.

“As for the drawcard, PSG is going to play an active role in the operations of the Chiliz ecosystem, meaning they will help build trust and attract more brands and developers, also by co-hosting hackathons with us at their stadium,” Dreyfus explained.

Chiliz and Socios have been focused on building products and experiences for the broader sports industry. Dreyfus believes that its protocol needs stakeholders from the space to participate in its governance and ongoing operation.

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The Chiliz founder says his long-term goal is to have dozens to hundreds of validators comprised of sports organizations, fan-owned nodes and cryptocurrency firms. The hope is that PSG’s move will prompt other major clubs to consider becoming node operators.

“This is a new income source for them, diversification, but also being part of the network effect brings value to everybody involved.”

PSG’s Web3 play

Off-the-record conversations with Helgosson reveal that PSG is ambitiously exploring a multitude of ways to diversify revenues and offerings in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem.

The club’s investment in becoming an infrastructure operator of Chiliz blockchain marks the start of its moves to actively participate in the Web3 ecosystem. PSG has actively explored and launched a number of nonfungible token (NFT) collections, some of which offer exclusive rewards to holders.

Related: Animoca eyes SportFi ecosystem, becomes Chiliz Chain validator

Helogosson would not disclose the details of its investment or capital allocation for the Chiliz node-as-a-service partnership but said the club intends to actively engage and reinvest with its Web3 partners.

He highlighted that being a node validator is a core component in building a sustainable tokenomics model for both the PSG Fan token ecosystem and for Chiliz as an underlying ecosystem.

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