Chiliz representatives want the U.S. government to understand that fan tokens are not risk assets.
Pepper in the midfield of football at a sporting event (Image by AI/Livecoins)
The company responsible for the cryptocurrency Chiliz (CHZ), famous for its connection with the issuance of fan tokens for sports clubs, met with U.S. authorities last Tuesday (22), indicating an ambitious project for the 2026 World Cup.
Scheduled to take place with venues in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, the sporting event will be one of the largest in world football next year. Thus, while teams are still qualifying in their regions, companies interested in the event are aiming to make financial investments.
Livecoins gathered from a public document that, in the meeting with the SEC, the U.S. CVM, Chiliz made a proposal to invest between $50 and $100 million in the 2026 World Cup.
What were the goals of the cryptocurrency Chiliz when meeting with U.S. authorities regarding the 2026 World Cup?
The report found information that Chiliz wanted to meet with the Crypto Task Force, the SEC's task force for the cryptocurrency market, on one of the dates, April 21, 22, or 23, 2025.
Thus, the meeting took place on the 22nd, and the Crypto Task Force confirmed that it met with Cody Carbone (CEO of The Digital Chamber), Alex Dreyfuss (CEO of Chiliz), and Josh Lawler (partner at Zuber Lawler).
Regarding the purpose of the debates, the cryptocurrency interested in investing in the 2026 World Cup began by presenting its company and the issuance of fan tokens. Examples such as fan tokens from Barcelona, PSG, among others, came to the attention of American authorities.
In addition, they asked the government to pave the way so that fan tokens do not become criminalized in the country. This is because Chiliz left the market since the collapse of FTX, due to fear of regulatory persecution, and believes that now is the time to return safely.
It is worth remembering that the Trump Administration has already reaffirmed that it expects to make the U.S. the capital of cryptocurrencies, which has encouraged companies to approach the country.
NBA and NFL attentive to the regulation of fan tokens
In 2021, Chiliz highlighted in the conversation with the regulator that it had already made investments of $80 million with some sports companies linked to the NBA and NFL. At that time, 27 NBA teams formed a partnership, in addition to another 13 from the NFL.
Now, if the regulation proves promising, Chiliz told the regulator that companies are willing to return to the cryptocurrency market, provided that fan tokens are no longer categorized as securities.
It is worth noting that in Brazil the company has already gained attention with the issuance of fan tokens for football clubs. Corinthians ($SCCP), Flamengo ($MENGO), Atlético Mineiro ($GALO), Palmeiras ($VERDAO), among others, have been in the market for several years.
After the meeting, the price of CHZ in the market rose by 10% in the last 24 hours, quoted at R$ 0.23 per unit. However, the maximum price of the coin is still down by 95% from its all-time high of R$ 5.10, reached in March 2021.
The company's main competitor is Binance, an exchange that has also launched major fan tokens, such as that of Santos ($SANTOS), for example.