Binance teams up with ChiliZ for tokenization of sports industries

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Malta-based ChiliZ announced that it has received a sizeable investment from cryptocurrency exchange Binance for its new tokenization platform. ChiliZ’s platform was created specifically for the eSports and sports industries, and allows entities within the segments to tokenize their voting rights to fan bases.

Both ChiliZ and Binance are forward-thinking, realizing the potential growth of the video gaming space.  Already a $110-billion industry, it is expected to be one of the next big industries to embrace blockchains. The duo also believes that mainstream blockchain use will ramp up much quicker, due in part to the sizeable eSports fan base. Both the video game space and the eSports space share virtually identical demographics—millennials who are educated, well connected and, typically, reasonably affluent. The millennials also have a special interest in, and knowledge of, cryptocurrencies and digital asset trading.

ChiliZ has decided to first approach eSports teams and leagues, but the two companies will work closely together to expand into the sports industry. They will develop a token ecosystem designed for fans of traditional sports teams and will enable the scaling of the concept of “socios” around the world.

ChiliZ got the inspiration from the “socios” concept created by the Spanish soccer team Real Madrid. Socio is Spanish for member or partner, and Real Madrid used the model to build the soccer club from the ground up, resulting in a club that is now owned by more than 90,000 socios, or members. It is designed to increase fan engagement and to quickly develop a fan base for a new or young team.

The CEO of ChiliZ, Alexandre Dreyfus, explains, “Binance’s significant investment in chiliZ will boost our current private placement offering and help us to move faster. Their support will help us deliver our vision globally, increase our visibility in the blockchain ecosystem and empower our technical vision. I’m also excited that Binance is setting-up in Malta, where we will be able to share resources, enabling a more strategic partnership.”

ChiliZ has already received more than $27 million from an ongoing private placement investment phase. The agreement with Binance will allow the company to expand further, and will capitalize on the shared technical knowledge, creativity and innovation of the two companies.

Binance, considered to be one of the world’s most successful cryptocurrency exchanges, manages a daily trading volume of over $1.5 billion and currently has more than 9 million users. It is a popular exchange for trading Bitcoin Cash, along with Kraken, Huobi and Bitfinex.