Sports entertainment blockchain Chiliz has partnered with e-commerce firm Rakuten Europe, with the ultimate goal of an integrated global space.
Rakuten customers in Spain, UK, and Germany can now use Rakuten points to redeem Chiliz Fan Tokens. These allow fans to interact with their favorite teams via tokens. The two firms are also exploring further integrations, where users can freely integrate into a global space.
Rakuten Points
Rakuten is a Japanese e-commerce firm with a growing footprint throughout Europe. It currently offers various services to consumers across the region—for instance, shopping and messaging services and digital content.
Rakuten Points power these services. Members can earn points through shopping and redeem them in various ways, including on movies, gift cards, and e-books. Now Chiliz Fan Tokens have been added to the mix.
Chiliz Fan Tokens
Basically, Chiliz Fan Tokens are collectible, tradable digital assets that provide owners with benefits that connect them with their favorite clubs. These benefits include voting rights, VIP rewards, club and sponsor promotions, AR-enabled features, and super-fan recognition.
Initially, Rakuten will offer Fan Tokens for football clubs like FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Atletico de Madrid, AS Roma, Galatasaray, and AC Milan. FC Barcelona is already a global partner of Rakuten. Eventually, Rakuten will offer more tokens from Chiliz’s roster of partners, including Manchester City. The partners expect to expand into additional markets in Europe and eventually worldwide.
Further integrations
Chiliz and Rakuten are also exploring further integrations. They aim to create a global space where users of Rakuten and Socios.com, Chiliz’s online platform, can interface with both platforms freely. Chiliz also plans to work with the Rakuten blockchain lab, as Rakuten intends to become an official node validator for the Chiliz blockchain.
Recently, crypto data aggregator CoinMarketCap created a dedicated page for Fan Tokens minted on the Chiliz blockchain. The total Fan Token market cap recently surpassed $400 million.
