What is Chiliz?

Chiliz is a platform that uses blockchain technology to give the ultimate fan experience for sports and entertainment. They aim to provide fans with a new way to engage with sports teams and help sports enterprises monetise through tokens that let fans hold a stake in their team.

The Chiliz (CHZ) token is an ERC-20 utility token on the Ethereum blockchain that serves as the digital currency for chiliZ and Socios.com – a sports fan engagement platform where fans can buy branded non-fungible tokens to show their support for their favourite athletes, teams, and entertainers. Chiliz also has several other projects, such as Fantokenstats.com, FanTokenRank.com, and Socios Journal.

A brief history of Chiliz

Founded in 2018 by Alexandre Dreyfus, Chiliz was created on the basis that fans had little to no connection and collaboration with their preferred teams or players in the present sports and esports scene. However, the urge exists to 'activate' followers as influencers. Chiliz aims to establish a platform where fans receive a direct vote in their favourite sports organisations, can network with like-minded fans, and help finance new sports and esports businesses.

Chiliz was launched privately. The initial supply was set at 8,888,888,888 CHZ tokens. Kosmos Capital, Jump Capital, CeYuan Ventures, and Binance Labs are a few of the major investors of Chiliz. In the second quarter of 2018, Chiliz raised US$66 million via private placement. After distribution to early donors, CHZ became listed on various cryptocurrency exchanges.

Most of the initial investment fund that Chiliz earned from its private sale was directed towards constructing a fan interaction and incentives app, Socios.com, which launched at the end of December 2019. As the only on-platform currency, fans may use CHZ to acquire branded ‘fan tokens’, digital assets that give them important decision-making power by allowing them to vote on Chiliz's partners' posts inside the blockchain-based Socios app. Ownership also allows fans access to special prizes, engagement, gamification, social interaction, leaderboard features, etc.

All fan tokens are minted using the Chiliz blockchain and voting is executed using a series of smart contracts. Football clubs, including Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain, were amongst the first teams to join the platform to produce their fan tokens. As of May 2022, Socios.com listed 50 fan tokens that are currently in circulation.

How Chiliz works

Chiliz operates on a side chain of the Ethereum network, and this side chain is the basis of Socios.com. It hosts any team, league, game title, or other organisation that connects with the platform. Each organisation's crowd voting procedures operate as a semi-autonomous entity on this blockchain.

The fan tokens for sale at Socios.com are more than just collectables. Team-branded NFTs provide fans with interactive experiences with teams and control over team decisions. Fans who have obtained tokens may express themselves by voting in polls organised by teams that have become Socios partners.

For example, the football club Juventus FC allowed token holders to choose the celebration song that would play over loudspeakers after the team scored a goal. Juventus celebrated goals with a song called Chelsea Dagger for eight years. Now, the Juventus fan token holders chose ‘Song 2’ by the band Blur as a replacement, and so the team moving forward will play that song.

What is Chiliz (CHZ) used for?

Chiliz allows sports fans to enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience with their favourite teams. Fans may purchase branded fan tokens for their favourite teams using the CHZ token, the platform's native cryptocurrency.

Fans may purchase and trade fan tokens and have the power to participate, influence, and vote in club-focused surveys & polls. Chiliz aspires to develop a blockchain ecosystem geared for sports and entertainment.