The London Football Exchange (LFE) has announced its intention to launch a cryptocurrency entirely centered around soccer. The vision is to create a global community linking everyone with an interest in soccer – both business and personal.

“Democratising Football Through The Blockchain”, reads the headline on the official site. “The London Football Exchange is a global movement to create the ultimate sports community where fans partake in exclusive club and fan experiences,” as explained on the website.

This development stands apart from the plethora of ICOs and new cryptocurrencies which are launched every week, as it’s the first to be entirely centered around English football, although one of many in the sports industry – including eSports and sports betting.

Arsenal FC and CashBet Coin

In a different blockchain project running parallel in the same industry, Arsenal Football Club has partnered with sports betting and gambling platform, CashBet, in the launch of its new cryptocurrency, CashBet Coin.

Announced within days of the LFE blockchain project, this partnership marks the first public association between one of the Premier League clubs and blockchain technology. It is expected that similar partnerships and sponsorships will soon follow.

According to Mike Reaves, CEO of CashBet, the new CashBet Coin “will improve the online experience for real money, casino, social, skill-based, eSports and sports betting players through increased trust and transparency, faster payouts, reduced fees and dedicated player protection.”

Indeed, the average 5 percent fee associated with ticket sales outsourcing will be entirely reduced to zero, with the LFE suggesting that the amount saved instead going to the “beautiful game.”

The LFE cryptocurrency will use a combination of the Ripple and Stellar networks, both of which have demonstrated optimal scalability and capability in terms of supporting projects of this nature. The main applications of the aforementioned networks will be transfers, trades and issuances of LFE tokens.

In a different sport entirely, Denmark’s Rungstead Seier Capital ice hockey club is another example of a sports-blockchain affiliation, with the club’s home rink officially bearing the name of the Bitcoin Arena since December 2017.

The Whitepaper for the Project

The 40-page whitepaper for the LFE initiative can be viewed here. It contains a highly detailed breakdown of the football industry and statistics from major clubs in the English Premier League, including diagrams, charts and photographs to support the information given.

The Inside Scoop on the Initial Token Sale

According to the official site, the tokens will be tradeable for fan ownership in several participating clubs, exclusive club packages, on- and off-pitch experiences and LFE events. In addition, LFE token holders will be able to trade them in exchange for other cryptocurrencies.

The token pre-sale is already active, having commenced on January 15, 2018. The highly attractive 40 percent discount attached to this round of the ITO comes with a steep price – a minimum investment of $10,000. For those looking to invest a little less, the second round kicks off on February 12, 2018, with tokens selling for $0.14 each.

By the time the ITO reaches the sixth and final round, set to take place from April 4 to May 20, 2018, the price of tokens will have risen to $0.20 each.

Feature image by Jakub Cicheki