FC Barcelona secures €120M funding for its latest web3 venture

FC Barcelona, the Spanish footballing giant and current La Liga champion, is venturing further into the digital sphere. With a hefty €120 million (roughly $132 million) backing, FC Barcelona is propelling their new project, ‘Barça Vision‘. This will be a dedicated platform where the club will place all of its digital content around web3, NFT, metaverse, and blockchain. 

The investment is a collaborative effort from two significant entities: Germany’s Libero Football Finance AG and the Netherlands-based Nipa Capital B.V.

As a part of this transaction, the club has agreed to relinquish 29.5% of its shares in Bridgeburg Invest. This firm acts as a guardian company for ‘Barça Vision’.

At its core, Barça Vision signifies FC Barcelona’s commitment to the digital age. It aims to amalgamate facets of the digital world, with a keen focus on Web3, blockchain, and notably, NFTs (digital collectibles). Furthermore, it seeks to pioneer in the realms of the metaverse. In essence, this endeavor is a testament to FC Barcelona’s vision of crafting a comprehensive digital ecosystem termed ‘digital Espai Barça’.

Past ventures and digital achievements of FC Barcelona 

Historically, FC Barcelona has always been at the forefront of digital innovations. Since as early as February 2020, they’ve partnered with Chiliz, a blockchain pioneer, to curate exclusive digital tokens tailored for their vast fanbase. This association further strengthened when, in August 2022, Chiliz acquired a 24.5% stake in Barça Vision, amounting to a staggering $100 million.

Further accentuating their digital dominance, FC Barcelona, in collaboration with Plastiks, launched an exclusive collection of NFTs earlier in May. Titled “Unleash Your Passion”, this collection boasts of 3,000 animal-inspired NFTs. Priced at $30 apiece, they serve a dual purpose: digital collectibles and a beacon for an environmental cause, aiming to eradicate 35 million kilograms of plastic from our ecosystem.

Adding to their illustrious digital portfolio, the club championed the auctioning of an NFT, “Masterpiece #1 In a way”, in July 2022 in New York. This masterpiece fetched an impressive $693,000. Its successor, “Masterpiece #2 – Empowerment”, found its patron on the digital platform, selling for $300,231 in June 2023.

It’s noteworthy that the recent investment will only materialize post the nod from FC Barcelona’s shareholders. Current indicators hint at a possible closure by 2023’s end.

Through these initiatives, FC Barcelona underscores its mission — football prowess intertwined with digital innovation.