Securitize and Socios Partner to Tokenize Shares of Professional Sports Teams

Key Points of the Article

• Tokenization of minority equity shares
• Details on the blockchain to be adopted will be announced later

Collaboration for Equity Tokenization

On the 2nd, Securitize, a U.S. company specializing in the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA), announced a strategic partnership with Socios.com, a fan token platform for sports.

The goal of the collaboration is to tokenize minority equity shares of professional sports teams in compliance with regulations and offer them to investors. The two companies stated that they aim to explore new models for capital formation and ownership of shares by combining their strengths.

In this initiative, the two companies plan to collaborate with sports teams, existing owners, and institutional investors to tokenize minority equity shares under the brand "Socios Equity Token." They explained that this plan will comply with securities laws, league requirements, club approvals, and jurisdictional constraints.

Additionally, they plan to develop a regulated investment infrastructure for tokenized shares of sports teams. Securitize will handle the issuance of securities, investor participation, and management of ownership records through affiliated companies, while Socios.com will lead the interactions with the sports industry and the development of a participation layer for fans.

Background of the Collaboration

Regarding the background of this collaboration, it was explained that professional sports franchises are currently estimated to be worth a total of $500 billion (approximately 78 trillion yen) worldwide. However, it was pointed out that the majority of ownership is private, making access and transactions for minority shareholders often difficult.

Furthermore, it was explained that the digital assets of the Socios Equity Token aim to bring part of this asset value on-chain within a regulated infrastructure. This will expand distribution for teams, owners, and qualified investors, enhance access and price discovery functions, and build a bridge between fans and institutions.

It was also stated that details regarding the teams involved, transaction conditions, investor eligibility, and the blockchain to be adopted will be announced when individual offerings are approved. Moreover, it was mentioned that the tokenized shares being offered this time are a separate product from existing fan tokens.

In the announcement, Carlos Domingo, CEO of Securitize, commented as follows:
"Professional sports teams represent a significant asset class that is largely private and difficult to access. Our regulated infrastructure in the U.S. and Europe can provide teams and owners with a new way to issue and manage shares while maintaining the investor protections and ownership that are typically applied to regulated securities.

Summary

The partnership between Securitize and Socios aims to create a regulated framework for tokenizing shares of professional sports teams, enhancing access for minority shareholders and bridging the gap between fans and institutional investors.