Following the news that the social media engagement platform IQONIQ, which had several partnerships with leading European soccer clubs, is in liquidation;

Patrick Kinch, Sport Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The cryptocurrency market has been heavily engaged in European soccer over the past 18 to 24 months, with nearly half of clubs in Europe’s top five soccer leagues holding at least one crypto partnership. However, IQONIQ’s liquidation has left both fans and clubs out of pocket.

“IQONIQ has recently seen several partnerships across European soccer, including Crystal Palace, Real Sociedad and Valencia. The combined value of its active partnerships with European soccer clubs is $6 million annually, according to GlobalData’s Sport Intelligence Center. After such a huge loss, greater scrutiny and regulation will be demanded from governing bodies to regulate the way clubs engage with cryptocurrencies. This could slow down crypto’s investment in sport sponsorship.

“As cryptocurrency is currently unregulated in the UK, the Football Supporter’s Association has said that league chiefs and the government need to regulate cryptocurrency platforms. Socios.com, another crypto based fan engagement platform, has also been writing to the Premier League calling for a code of practice for all crypto-related Premier League partnerships. Such a process would undoubtedly curve the current rate of new partnerships being signed between European soccer clubs and crypto firms.”