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Cryptocurrency shirt deal for Liverpool?

Liverpool are in talks over a new shirt sponsorship deal as their £40 million-a-year contract with Standard Chartered is set to expire in May 2023. And although discussions are continuing about extending their partnership, the club are also talking to firms from sectors including electronics, media and tourism.

Among those parties, The Athletic has revealed, are companies from the cryptocurrency sector. They include a crypto exchange firm — a platform to buy and sell digital currency — and a blockchain platform (a decentralised computer network that underpins cryptocurrencies).

Many English top-flight sides have signed deals with cryptocurrency firms over the past few years but displaying such companies on the front of their shirts would be a Premier League first. It is likely to be controversial but Liverpool are desperate to financially compete with other elite clubs and maximise their commercial deals.

There are a lot of environmental concerns about blockchains, which require vast computing power to operate, and the sector is largely unregulated and is closely associated with financial speculation. Cryptocurrency can be bought and sold on exchanges for financial gains or losses, potentially exposing fans to risk. 

This is, as yet,  a highly unregulated sector and one that poses risks even for relatively sophisticated investors.

The most prominent Premier League cryptocurrency sponsor is Socios, which sells “fan engagement tokens” and has deals with six clubs: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Everton, Leeds United and Manchester City. Fans of Palace recently held up a banner calling the firm “parasites” but Socios insists it exists for the benefit of fans rather than as a means of currency speculation.

When Liverpool launched a series of NFTs — non-fungible tokens — last month, the backlash was marked.

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