Paris Saint-Germain embarks on Web3 venture as a fresh blockchain validator for Chiliz Chain.

Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), the renowned French football club, is set to further its involvement in Web3 and SportFi by becoming a validator for the fan token blockchain Chiliz. Recently, Cointelegraph had the exclusive opportunity to speak with Chiliz founder Alexandre Dreyfus and PSG head of Web3 Pär Helgosson about the evolving partnership between the football club and the blockchain platform. PSG is the first major football club to become a blockchain protocol validator and plans to reinvest the revenue generated as a validator to buy back PSG tokens. This move aims to create a self-sustaining digital economy for the club and its fan base. The Chiliz Chain, which underpins Socios, the platform that issues and manages fan tokens for over 150 professional football clubs and sports teams, is the infrastructure being utilized. PSG was an early adopter of this technology and launched its fan token on Chiliz in September 2018. PSG intends to explore opportunities in the broader cryptocurrency, Web3, and SportFi spaces, with Helgosson leading the efforts. In November 2023, venture capital firm Animoca Brands joined Chiliz Chain as a validator of its proof-of-stake protocol after Chiliz revamped its tokenomics model. Chiliz introduced a new inflation-staking rewards mechanism for CHZ holders and integrated the transaction fee protocol burning scheme EIP-1559. PSG plans to use its accrued revenue as a node validator to carry out PSG fan token buybacks from public marketplaces. These buybacks will be automated and executed by smart contracts through its validator and on decentralized exchanges on the Chiliz Chain. The program aims to increase revenue from the club’s validator through gas fees and supply inflation, which will be reinvested into PSG tokens. PSG is interested in refreshing its token reserves to create a self-sustaining economy. The club expects this move to provide rewards, new utilities, functions, products, and services that will benefit PSG tokenholders, sponsors, and players. PSG and Chiliz are also planning to host a blockchain hackathon 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 tokens on the Chiliz Chain. Dreyfus believes that PSG’s move to become a validator could inspire other clubs to follow suit and gain a better understanding of how the ecosystem’s tokenomics work. The long-term goal is to have dozens to hundreds of validators comprised of sports organizations, fan-owned nodes, and cryptocurrency firms. PSG’s investment in becoming an infrastructure operator of the Chiliz blockchain marks the start of its active participation in the Web3 ecosystem. The club has already explored and launched several nonfungible token collections that offer exclusive rewards to holders. Helgosson did not disclose the details of PSG’s investment or capital allocation for the Chiliz node-as-a-service partnership but stated that the club intends to actively engage and reinvest with its Web3 partners. He emphasized that being a node validator is a fundamental element in building a sustainable tokenomics model for the Paris Saint-Germain Fan Token ecosystem and Chiliz.