Fan tokens: Sports and speculation on the blockchain

Matthias Scharnowski, Stefan Scharnowski and Lukas Zimmermann

Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, 2023, vol. 89, issue C

Abstract: This paper provides an economic analysis of fan tokens, which are collectible utility tokens issued by sports clubs. We document that fan token prices are highly volatile and substantially riskier than those of established cryptocurrencies. For a subset of publicly listed clubs, we find that stock and token returns are uncorrelated. Instead, fan tokens tend to closely co-move with each other and the main cryptocurrencies used for buying them. Returns are lower on days when the club unexpectedly loses a game, but higher on days of increased investor attention towards fan tokens. While fan tokens may provide some non-monetary utility, as financial assets they are highly speculative and, in many aspects, resemble cryptocurrencies.

Keywords: Fan tokens; Cryptocurrency; Soccer; Sports; Blockchain (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G12 G14 G15 G41 Z23 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:intfin:v:89:y:2023:i:c:s1042443123001488

DOI: 10.1016/j.intfin.2023.101880

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