Spanish football club FC Barcelona announced last Friday (Aug 11) that its Web3 project "Barça Vision" has secured a 120 million euro (approximately $132 million) investment from Libero Football Finance AG and Nipa Capital B.V. According to the club's official announcement, FC Barcelona will sell a 29.5% stake in the holding company "Bridgeburg Invest," the holding company of Barça Vision. Libero Football Finance AG is a publicly listed company in Germany that specializes in providing financial consulting to football clubs. Nipa Capital B.V. is a registered venture capital firm in the Netherlands. The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, subject to approval from FC Barcelona shareholders.
In July 2022, Barça Vision introduced its first NFT collectible, "Masterpiece #1," which was successfully auctioned at Sotheby's New York for a staggering $693,000. Since then, FC Barcelona's interest in Web3, NFTs, and the metaverse has continued to grow.
In May 2023, Barça Vision partnered with Plastiks to launch its first environmentally-focused NFT collection, "Unleash Your Passion." The collection, featuring 3,000 animal-themed NFTs, aims to contribute to removing 35,000,000 kilograms of plastic from the planet. Each sale of an NFT in this collection supports the recovery of a corresponding weight of plastic waste in collaboration with an environmental organization. According to the Plastiks website, the project has already facilitated the recovery of nearly 3 million discarded plastic bottles in a matter of months.
In June, Barça Vision sold their second NFT collectible, "Masterpiece #2," on OpenSea for an impressive $300,231, even amidst a bear market.
FC Barcelona has been actively developing its Web3 business, having collaborated with the Chiliz blockchain to create Ethereum-based FC Barcelona Fan Tokens (BAR) as early as 2020. In the same year, the club launched its Web3 project "Barça Vision," focusing on NFTs. In August 2022, Chiliz announced the acquisition of a 24.5% stake in Barça Vision for $100 million.
FC Barcelona's proactive approach underscores its commitment to venturing into the Web3 domain. As a pioneer and innovator, the club showcases the potential of the sports industry's future by exploring Web3 and NFT technologies. With this new investment, we anticipate exciting innovations and achievements from the club in the world of Web3.
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