Socios.com, the issuer of Chiliz (CHZ), has secured regulatory approval in Italy to distribute its fan token in the country.
The Chiliz team has also announced that CHZ staking and the much-anticipated ChilizBridge to the network will launch soon.
The launch will prepare Chiliz for the launch of the migration to the Chiliz Chain 2.0, scheduled for Q3 or Q4.
The positive sentiment around CHZ has seen the token gain more than 120% to hit a 4-month high at $0.2221.
Project Review
Chiliz (CHZ) is the digital currency used to run the sports and entertainment blockchain project, Socios.com. Headquartered in Malta, Socios is a blockchain-based sports entertainment and fan engagement platform.
The platform allows users to create and launch fan tokens for sports teams. These fan tokens allow users to participate in the governance and decision-making of the sports team they support.
Since launching in 2019, Socios has formed partnerships with over 150 sports teams in 25 countries across ten countries, including American football, basketball, moto sports, cricket, ice hockey, MMA, rugby, and tennis.
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Recent Developments
Chiliz has announced that it is entering the fifth phase of its Scoville testnet launch, with the mainnet CHZ cross-chain bridge scheduled to launch before the end of the year. The mainnet launch is Phase 7 of the Chiliz migration to the Chiliz Chain 2.0.
Fan token platform Socios.com, in an official announcement on August 18, revealed that it has secured regulatory approval from Italy’s financial regulator Organismo Agenti e Mediatori (OAM).
According to Socios.com, the OAM license enables the company to provide virtual currencies and digital wallets for its fan engagement and rewards platform in the key European market.
Following the regulatory approval, Socios.com also became the official fan engagement and rewards partner for Italy’s national football team.
In early August, Socios announced partnerships with Stade Francais and The Sharks. According to Socios, the partnerships marked a significant milestone in the company’s push for global expansion.
As part of the partnership, The Sharks will become the first team in Africa to launch Fan Tokens on Socios.com. Similarly, Stade Français will also become the first French rugby union club to join the platform.
Price Updates
The regulatory approval in Italy along with other developments put Chiliz on a wild rally that saw CHZ lead the crypto performance table for a week. Chiliz has gained more than 110% since the start of August.
The 30-day price chart for Chiliz (CHZ). Source: CoinMarketCap
The rally saw CHZ set a new four-month high at $0.2221. However, moving in tandem with the crypto market that turned bearish after the FOMC minutes were released, CHZ now trades at $0.1961, losing 9% in the last 24 hours.
The 24-hour price chart for Chiliz (CHZ). Source: CoinMarketCap
With the footballing season fully back, fans have increased their demands for the exclusive fan tokens of their clubs. If Chiliz holds out after the bearish trend, the token could rally all the way to $0.41.
Future Events
With Chiliz in its phase 5, the team has teased that the new upgrade will bring the staking of CHZ and the much anticipated ChilizBridge to the network. While the team says these features are coming soon, there is no timeline for their releases.
According to the Chiliz schedule, the mainnet launch (Phase 7: Habanero) is scheduled to launch in the third or fourth quarter of the year. The Chiliz team is also working on releasing a mobile application in August to improve the activity on the project.
Socios.com also recently announced that it will invest $100 million in the metaverse project of the Spanish football club, team FC Barcelona. The investment will be made in Barca Studios, the football club’s metaverse, NFT, and Web3 division.
Socios.com will receive 24.5% in Barca Studios if the investment deal pulls through. Socios.com will also work with the club to reshape the metaverse and Web3 strategies of the division to include more revenue streams.
On the Flipside
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld a ruling against Arsenal’s promotion of fan token company Socios.
The ASA said Arsenal’s promotion of its fan tokens last summer was “misleading” and “irresponsible.”
Community
Being the native token of a platform that powers the fan tokens of multiple communities, by extension, Chiliz holds one of the biggest communities in the crypto space.
To integrate the broader Socios.com community with Chiliz, the project launched the “Fan Token Kickoff” on the Bybit exchange with a Prize pool of 200,000 USDT. Alexandre Dreyfus wrote on Twitter;
Nice to see that from @Bybit_Official. The “Fan Token Kickoff” powered by @chiliz $CHZ. pic.twitter.com/12VfzggzyB
— Alexandre Dreyfus (@alex_dreyfus) August 19, 2022
Bullish about the prospects of CHZ, a Twitter user, @PlaymakerChiliz, wrote;
$CHZ can’t stop, won’t stop?
.@Chiliz is leading the #crypto TOP100 today – up 10% while #Bitcoin is down -1% and alts are tanking.
Close to jumping back over $0.20 again, with volume looking good – very strong move! pic.twitter.com/EZtMfk0wwI
— Playmaker (@PlaymakerChiliz) August 15, 2022
With the upcoming launch of staking, another user, @3cker1, has given his prediction for the price of CHZ. @3cker1 wrote;
Why You Should Care
Football clubs and other sports teams are increasingly looking for ways to engage their fans, further increasing the adoption and use cases of Socios.com and its underlying Chiliz (CHZ) token. In addition, the mainnet launch of Chiliz amidst a flurry of sporting activities could spark one of the biggest rallies the coin has recorded.