Soccer might not have been the first sport to have seen the possibilities of cryptocurrencies – clubs took note after earlier experiments in basketball and football. But in the last few years, more soccer clubs have dipped their toes into the crypto waters.

Club tokens are cryptocurrencies issued by clubs. They’re usually minted on fan-engagement sites like Socios and Binance Fan Zone. Many of these tokens later trade on large exchanges like Binance, which is rated as one of the top exchanges on CryptoManiaks.

But which club has the most expensive fan token?

The most expensive soccer fan token

The AS Roma Fan Token is priced at around $1.32, with a trading volume of $5.87 million and a market cap of $10.81 million. It has a circulating supply of 8.16 million ASR.

In 2019, Roma announced their fan token in partnership with Socios.com. It joined rivals Juventus, Paris-Saint Germain and West Ham United on the platform.

A club statement said the partnership would help build the connection between Roma and its fans. It said the more that fans vote and interact on the app, the more rewards they would earn, competing for “once-in-a-lifetime experiences” and access to merchandise, leader boards, and games.

Chief revenue officer Francesco Calvo said the club had a duty to be proactive with new technologies. Socios.com chief-executive and founder Alexandre Dreyfus said he was delighted to welcome Roma to the platform.

Roma was among the leaders in soccer in embracing crypto. In 2021 it partnered with Zytara Labs in a deal worth $36 million and included the DigitalBits logo on their famous maroon jerseys. The club then began accepting XDB (DigitalBits’ currency) for online store payments.

Roma’s last trophy was the UEFA Conference league, won in 2022 when Jose Mourinho was head coach and ignited feverish support from the fans with his pro-Roma messaging early in his tenure. Mourinho became the first coach to win the three premier European competitions: the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference league.

The club last won Serie A, Italy’s top flight, in 2001. It was Roma’s third league title in their history.  Gabriel Batistuta’s 20 league goals were crucial, despite three Serie A players scoring more in that season. Roma’s Francesco Totti and Vincenzo Montella were also among the top scorers on 13 each.

Totti is widely considered one of Roma’s biggest legends and one of Italy’s greatest ever soccer players. He won the World Cup with Italy in 2006. Totti was Serie A’s youngest ever club captain at just 22 years old and remained a one-club man throughout his career.

Galatasaray

Galatasaray have the next most expensive fan token, priced at around $1.20. The token trades on platforms such as Paribu and BtcTurk PRO.

The club’s head coach, Okan Buruk, recently made the honest admission that their star striker Victor Osimhen’s wage could probably pay for an entire team. Buruk said the club’s transfer fees and salaries have increased in the last year. Osimhen alone is reportedly on a contract worth a guaranteed €15 million per year. He earns an additional €5 million annually through image rights.

Galatasaray paid Napoli €75 million to sign Osimhen permanently after a successful loan deal, making the Nigerian forward one of Turkish football’s most expensive players ever. He recently became the quickest player in Galatasaray history to score his 50th goal for the club, doing so in just 59 games.

Argentine soccer

Though not a club, the Argentina Football Association has a coin priced at around $0.90 with a $3.1 million trading volume.

Argentina won the last World Cup, unusually played in December due to the extreme heat in Qatar. Their star Lionel Messi, now playing for Inter Miami after many years at Barcelona, scored twice in the dramatic final (as well as the first kick in the penalty shootout). France’s Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick, including a 118th-minute equaliser in one of the best extra-time periods the World Cup has ever seen, as well as his penalty in the shootout. And still that wasn’t enough to win.

It was Messi’s first World Cup toward the tail end of a highly decorated career that includes 10 La Liga titles and four Champions Leagues.

This year, Argentina is among the favorites for the World Cup, co-hosted by USA, Canada, and Mexico. Spain is the bookmakers’ favorite after winning the European Championship in 2024.

Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid’s fan token is priced at around $0.834 with a circulating supply of 7.72 million ATM.

Atletico has historically played second fiddle to Real Madrid and Barcelona. Under Diego Simeone the team have twice upset the Spanish giants, winning La Liga in 2014 and 2021. Albeit Atletico are not exactly minnows, having one of the largest revenues and followings in world soccer.

Simeone’s team don’t typically have the biggest names in the sport but players like Julian Alvarez, whose signing many considered a coup from Manchester City, Ademola Lookman, and Pablo Barrios are highly talented. They could be said to be underperforming this season, someway adrift of Barcelona at the top. Although the latter have one of their most talented squads for many years, including Spaniards Gavi, Pedri, and Lamine Yamal, who will play at his first World Cup this summer. Yamal has around one goal involvement every match so far this season.

Paris Saint-Germain

Paris Saint-German, who Barcelona has had several transfer dealings with in recent years (including the $55.2 million Ousmane Dembele, who won the Ballon d’Or), have the next most expensive fan token. Theirs is priced at around $0.66, which is more expensive than Barcelona’s, 7th at around $0.46. Juventus’ token sits in the middle at around $0.570.

Dembele helped PSG to their first ever Champions League last season. Winning Europe’s biggest club competition had been the club’s priority since being acquired by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011. They dominate Ligue 1 in France, having won the last four titles. 2021 was a rare year without league success. They have won 11 of the last 13 titles.