In an interview that felt more like a casual chat over beers at a bar rather than a typical crypto conference interview, Max Rabinovitch, the chief strategy officer of Chiliz, opened up about the company’s experiences.
Chiliz was on the verge of unlocking the world’s largest sports market in 2021/2022, having invested over $80 million for this purpose. However, the subsequent collapse of FTX had a severe impact. FTX had a significant presence in the sports business, spending large amounts on stadium rights, sponsoring Major League Baseball, and lobbying the US government. As a result, crypto became a highly toxic topic in Washington and the sports world, causing reputational damage to the entire industry and slamming the door on Chiliz’s major – league ambitions.
Chiliz had to spend the next two years dealing with the aftermath, cleaning up contracts and paying off dues, which was a painful experience both financially and for business growth. Max admitted that $80 million is a substantial loss, but emphasized that it wasn’t Chiliz’s fault. What hurt the most was that they felt they failed before they could even launch a product.
Despite these setbacks, Rabinovitch pointed out some positive aspects. For example, the market cap of Chiliz’s fan tokens and their daily trading volume exceed the combined trading volume of all NFTs in the world, indicating that they are doing something right. He also expressed confidence in the future of the business, believing that the US market, as the world’s largest sports and entertainment market, holds great potential for Chiliz. In fact, Alex (presumably a colleague) was in Washington recently to meet with the SEC and discuss matters with relevant personnel in the White House.
Rabinovitch also talked about the unique position of Chiliz in the crypto – sports space. Unlike some other crypto projects that focus on yield farming, liquid staking, meme coins, or Bitcoin DeFi, Chiliz has managed to penetrate the mainstream and become well – known in the world’s most popular sport, football. It has partnered with some of the biggest football brands, including FC Barcelona, Paris Saint – Germain, and Manchester United.
In conclusion, while Chiliz has faced significant challenges and losses, it also sees opportunities for growth and continues to be optimistic about its future in the SportFi space.
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