FC Barcelona Launches Barca Pass: A Game-Changing Crypto Wallet & NFT Avatar Platform
FC Barcelona just scored a hat-trick in Web3—introducing the Barca Pass crypto wallet and NFT avatars. Because nothing says 'financial innovation' like footballers doubling as blockchain influencers.
The Playbook: The club's new digital wallet lets fans store, trade, and flaunt crypto assets alongside exclusive Barça-themed NFTs. Move over, boring PFPs—your Messi-inspired avatar just became the ultimate flex.
Why It Matters: With traditional banks still stuck in the Stone Age, Barça’s pivot to crypto could make them the accidental heroes of decentralized finance. Or at least give fans a new way to lose money on jpeg collectibles.
The Bottom Line: Another sports giant betting big on blockchain—because if there’s one thing more volatile than crypto markets, it’s a football club’s finances.
Wearables will be purchasable via FCB’s Shopify integration, McDonald explained.
Traders will also be able to buy or sell FCB digital items on marketplaces like Tradeverse that are integrated with the Root chain’s ecosystem, and can buy those items with crypto like ROOT or XRP.
Over 11 million Barça IDs had already been created before the launch, according to the post from FCB.
The wallet won’t just be a wrapper to hold your avatar, though. McDonald told me the Pass will support “a wide range of onchain experiences and applications that developers build.”
FCB has previously lent its name to different (non-crypto) mobile games over the years, including an endless runner mobile game roughly a decade ago and even a cooking game in 2018.
Last year, it launched a mobile minigame app called Barça Games, but that app is no longer available on the Google Play Store.
Back in 2020, FCB tried its hand at crypto with an FC Barcelona fan token, BAR, on Chiliz.
That token hit a market cap of nearly $125 million in 2021 — and today sits at $13.2 million.
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