Major Turkish sports club Fenerbahçe issues fan token on Ethereum

Blockchain

Crypto presents an opportunity to create a significant revenue stream for sports clubs around the world, Fenerbahçe S.K. President Ali Koç said.

Fenerbahçe S.K., one of the three biggest sports clubs in Turkey, issued its own fan token on the Ethereum blockchain through a new partnership with the local crypto exchange Paribu. The initial presale of 500,000 unlocked tokens was completed on Aug. 9, netting the club 15 million lira ($1.75 million) in 30 seconds.

The club announced that the Fenerbahçe Token would have a maximum supply of 190,700,000 tokens in reference to 1907, the year Fenerbahçe was established. According to the project’s white paper, a total of 117 million treasure tokens would be created on smart contracts over the next 25 years on a yearly basis.

Fenerbahçe also included a roadmap for the token burn that would be triggered by the club’s achievements in soccer, basketball or volleyball. According to the white paper, there will be token burns in the event of a victory, championship or achievement in Europe.

Noting the dismal state of soccer amid the coronavirus pandemic, Fenerbahçe president Ali Koç said that the sports industry has to seek new revenue streams. He stated that being active in the crypto assets business is an important item in the club’s agenda.

Koç explained that Fenerbahçe met with 12 companies, both local and international, before issuing a fan token. After evaluating several criteria like the potential of a token listing, user base and technical infrastructure, the club picked Paribu as the technology partner for Fenerbahçe Token.

Speaking about the deal between two parties, Ali Koç said, “It’s not a sponsorship deal. It’s a 25-year-long business partnership.”

Paribu CEO Yasin Oral said that, due to Fenerbahçe Token being issued as an ERC-20 token on the Ethereum blockchain, it would be possible to list it on global platforms in the future.

Fenerbahçe is a rather late addition to the fan token hype in Turkey. Several sports clubs in the country have already issued fan tokens. More recently, the Turkish Union of Clubs, an association of clubs playing in Turkey’s primary soccer league Süper Lig, has partnered with Socios.com to explore digital revenue models.

Crypto usage in Turkey increased elevenfold in a year, new survey shows

Adoption

A new survey conducted in Turkey reveals how the perception of cryptocurrencies has evolved over the last year.

Turkey’s crypto userbase has grown more than 11 times over the last year, a new survey from Turkish crypto exchange Paribu shows.

The “Cryptocurrency Awareness and Perception Survey 2021” was conducted by Akademetre Research, revealing the perceptions and behaviors of Turkish citizens toward Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. The first survey was completed in 2020.

A significant discovery of last year’s research was that only 0.7% of over 6,000 respondents traded crypto in some form. On top of that, 84% of respondents had never heard of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies before. These results have contrasted with previous reports that claimed one-fifth of the Turkish population was exposed to cryptocurrency.

This year, however, shows a substantial jump in terms of cryptocurrency usage in Turkey. Out of about 1,400 respondents, 7.7% said they traded with Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, marking a jump of 11 times in crypto users compared to last year.

According to the survey, 11% of respondents with crypto knowledge have become active crypto users. As a major crypto exchange in the country, Paribu reflects the adoption speed with its user count, which grew from 600,000 to over 4 million within a year.

High earnings (60%) and curiosity (37%) are primary motivations for Turkish citizens to use cryptocurrencies. Nearly one in four respondents used cryptocurrency because it was tech-based. On the other hand, the increase in crypto usage does not translate into blockchain familiarity, as the survey shows that 80% of respondents who know about crypto have never heard of blockchain.

Commenting on the results, Paribu CEO Yasin Oral said that the market’s price movements and exchanges’ marketing activities boosted crypto awareness in Turkey. Some local exchanges’ actions that took advantage of users affected the survey results negatively, he noted, adding, “Trust in cryptocurrencies is increasing, but this research shows us one more time that we need clear regulations to establish a complete trust for the userbase.”

Paribu

Major Turkish sports club Fenerbahçe issues fan token on Ethereum

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Crypto usage in Turkey increased elevenfold in a year, new survey shows

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