Aside from the Chiliz Chain which attracted many people to the SportFi sector, the company said its Chiliz Labs Incubator and Accelerator Program also contributed to the sector’s growth this year.
Chiliz, a crypto firm that provides infrastructure solutions for sports and entertainment companies, experienced a monumental year for SportFi and Fan Tokens, propelling the industry to new heights in 2023.
Despite challenges faced by many blockchain sectors in the first half of the year, SportFi stood out as a success story fueled by the launch of Chiliz Chain, the company’s layer 1 protocol with a sequence of other strategic initiatives.
Chiliz Inks Over $437 Million in Revenue
In a press release shared with Coinspeaker, Chiliz highlighted a series of events that helped bolster the SportFi adoption this year. The launch of Chiliz Chain ushered in a remarkable year for SportFi, witnessing an influx of international sporting organizations tapping into Web3 for fan incentivization and community building.
The company said it generated $437 million in revenue from the sector following the official debut of its protocol. The platform has also processed over three million transactions this year.
The Chiliz Chain, which serves as a fundamental building block for the creation of SportFi applications supports various other SportFi use cases, including minting non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The protocol is also used to create fan tokens and other decentralized finance (DeFi) products including innovative games, and Web3-ready ticketing.
Fueling SportFi’s Growth
Aside from the Chiliz Chain which attracted many people to the SportFi sector, the company said its Chiliz Labs Incubator and Accelerator Program also contributed to the sector’s growth this year. According to the release, the incubator and accelerator program launched a $50 million initiative to nurture early-stage blockchain projects in the sports space.
Another event that contributed significantly to the SportFi growth in 2023 is the company’s acquisition of a 20% stake in MatchWornShirt. The move sought to leverage the blockchain technology to enhance the authenticity of sports collectibles.
Chiliz also mentioned it secured over 25 key partnerships this year to create a diverse SportFi ecosystem with projects such as Blockasset, FanFest, LiveLike, Football at AlphaVerse, TopGoal Footballcraft, and Lillius.
The company also collaborated with sports charity Common Goal for the “One Shirt Pledge”. The move allowed Chiliz to facilitate athletes’ donations of match-worn shirts authenticated on the Chiliz Chain for charity auctions, blending sports heritage with philanthropy.
Socios.com App and Achieves Major Milestones
The introduction of Chiliz Chain complemented the existing Socios.com app, a platform used by global sporting organizations to drive enhanced fan engagement.
Following the integration of the app into the protocol, Socios.com achieved significant milestones in 2023, experiencing a 30% increase in users across 160 countries.
The company has also witnessed other significant achievements, including onboarding major clubs like Tottenham Hotspur from the English Premier League. Socios.com also introduced the Locker Room feature, allowing users to obtain unique digital collectibles.
Furthermore, the platform rolled out over 3,000 Fan Polls, enabling users to vote on various aspects such as kit designs, squad numbers, and celebration songs of their favorite sports clubs.
Chiliz said Socios.com rewarded 50,000 fans this year with signed merch, match tickets, and once-in-a-lifetime VIP experiences. Additionally, Chiliz claimed that Socios.com’s achievements were only possible through the launch of its layer 1 blockchain platform.
Looking ahead to 2024, the protocol aims to build upon these accomplishments and intensify efforts to mainstream SportFi for the mutual benefit of clubs and fans globally.
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