Barcelona distances itself from sponsor’s cryptocurrency after backlash

Spanish soccer giants Barcelona have told fans they have “nothing to do” with a digital coin offered by its new crypto partner following criticism over the deal.

Clubs often hire sponsors in unusual places to make extra money. Arsenal engages Persil as fabric care partner in 2023 and Kellogg becomes Manchester City's breakfast cereal partner in the same year.

But much less is known about Zero Knowledge Proof (ZKP), which signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Barcelona in mid-November.

ZKP then announced the cryptocurrency, which raised concerns that Barcelona fans might invest in it, leading the club to distance themselves from the coin.

“The club is not responsible for or involved in the issuance or management of this token, nor does it use the associated technology,” the club stated. This is stated in the message on the website.

Little is known about ZKP, which also announced a similar sponsorship deal with Australian rugby league team the Dolphins in early November.

On its website, the company says the project was founded and developed by a “pseudonymous team” based in “multiple jurisdictions.”

In other words, the company does not disclose the names and locations of those behind it.

University of Sussex professor Carol Alexander said Barcelona's brand provides huge exposure for crypto firms like ZKP, but there is a “significant risk to backers buying tokens.”

“Sponsorship creates an aura of trust even if the underlying project is not transparent,” she told the BBC, saying it meant fans and supporters should be “very careful”.

“Before they buy any crypto asset, they should ask who controls it, where the documentation is, and what recourse they have if it fails,” she said.

“In the case of ZKP, none of these answers are clear.”

Details about ZKP are sparse, and the firm even claims that it does not have a single headquarters.

But the Financial Times reported An earlier version of the company's terms and conditions listed an office located in Apia, the capital of Samoa.

The name ZKP is also a term used to describe a type of technology designed to enhance the privacy of blockchain, the digital record of transactions that underpins cryptocurrencies.

The deal with Barcelona comes as the football club reportedly faces an uphill battle to increase revenue and pay down debt.

“Barcelona's finances have been precarious in recent years and the club appear to have adopted a 'save money first, ask questions later' strategy,” said football finance expert and author Kieran Maguire.

He told the BBC that “cryptocurrency products require legitimacy and normalization from those who speculate on their products.”

Partnering with a football club, especially one as famous as Barcelona, ​​“helps achieve those ambitions,” he said.

And former Barcelona youth player Javier Vilajoana, who is reportedly in the running to become its next president, called on the club to clarify how the deal happened in a post on X.

He also asked the club about ZKP's relationship with self-proclaimed misogynist Andrew Tate – one of three X-accounts the crypto firm monitors on the platform.

The BBC has contacted Barcelona for a response.