{"id":60997,"date":"2025-11-29T06:46:45","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T06:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=60997"},"modified":"2025-11-29T06:46:45","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T06:46:45","slug":"barcelona-crypto-nightmare-how-a-big-money-sponsorship-became-a-big-money-liability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/?p=60997","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona Crypto Nightmare: How a Big Money Sponsorship Became a Big Money Liability"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A new crypto partnership meant to steady FC Barcelona\u2019s finances has instead become a public headache within days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">FC Barcelona is facing growing criticism after confirming in mid-November that a Samoa-based company, Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP), would act as the club\u2019s \u201cOfficial Cryptographic Protocol Partner.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">But by November 26, the club <\/span><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fcbarcelona.com\/en\/club\/news\/4409268\/fc-barcelona-official-statement\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">moved<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> to distance itself from a digital token launched by the sponsor, insisting it had \u201cno connection whatsoever\u201d to the asset.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The controversy broke in Barcelona over the past 24 to 48 hours as fans and observers questioned who controls ZKP and why the club approved the arrangement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Global partnership with <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ZKPofficial?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">@ZKPofficial<\/a>, new Official Blockchain Technology Partner of FC Barcelona. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Bar%C3%A7axZKP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">#Bar\u00e7axZKP<\/a> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/16.0.1\/72x72\/1f91d.png\" alt=\"\ud83e\udd1d\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em; max-height: 1em;\"><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FCBarcelona\/status\/1989309198635581898?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">November 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><b>DISCOVER:<\/b><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/best-solana-meme-coins\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\"> <b>Top Solana Meme Coins to Buy in 2025<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>Did Barcelona Officially Deny Any Link To ZKP\u2019s Token?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Barcelona said the agreement never involved any token activity and added that it would provide updates once it obtained \u201cconclusive information.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The partnership was announced on November 14 with a three-year term running through 2028 and was described as a data privacy and security project rather than a token or fan-coin deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Soon after, ZKP began promoting a token sale, leading to claims online that the club was indirectly endorsing an untested offering.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In response, Barcelona issued a late-night <\/span><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/9fb4a3b9-d289-4ae7-b783-94ceb3632ef1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">statement<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> on November 26 setting out three clear points: it has no links to ZKP\u2019s token, holds no responsibility for its creation or control, and confirmed that neither the token nor the technology behind it was included in the sponsorship agreement.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Criticism has grown from football watchdogs and from inside Barcelona\u2019s own circle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Martin Calladine, who has written about crypto in football, said the lack of clarity around ZKP is \u201cdeeply concerning\u201d and warned that fans could be pushed toward tokens that may end up worth nothing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Former Barcelona director Xavier Vilajoana has also requested that the club explain how it vetted the deal initially.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>DISCOVER:<\/b><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/next-100x-crypto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\"> <b>10+ Next Crypto to 100X In 2025<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<h2><b>What Does Barcelona Mean By Promising \u201cTransparency\u201d?<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ZKP describes itself as a privacy-focused, decentralised project. But key details remain unclear.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Reporting over the past day shows the company is registered in Samoa and had earlier listed \u201cBraxova Ltd\u201d in its terms before quietly removing the reference.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The firm also claimed major financial backing and moved quickly into a token sale, adding to doubts about who is really in charge and who is accountable.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Barcelona\u2019s response marks its clearest attempt so far to protect its name while keeping the sponsorship agreement in place.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The club\u2019s statement stops short of any talk of suspension or cancellation. Instead, it promises \u201ctransparency\u201d and says more information will follow.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The stance highlights a tricky reality for Barcelona. The club is still carrying a significant amount of debt. Recent reports indicate that its net liabilities exceed the hundreds of millions of euros, in addition to large loans tied to the stadium rebuild. That context explains why fresh commercial revenue matters so much.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The row also evokes mixed memories of Bar\u00e7a\u2019s past in cryptocurrency. In 2021, the club withdrew from an NFT deal with Ownix after a person associated with the project was arrested. The club <\/span><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ledgerinsights.com\/worlds-largest-soccer-club-fc-barcelona-cancels-nft-deal-due-diligence-challenges-highlighted\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">said<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> it acted to protect its reputation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A year later, FC Barcelona signed a separate three-season partnership with the exchange WhiteBIT, running through June 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The deal was pitched as part of a wider push into digital ventures. Together, these episodes illustrate the allure of new sponsors and the risks associated with partnering with young or unproven entities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>DISCOVER:<\/b><a class=\"general-link\" href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/cryptocurrency\/next-1000x-crypto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\"> <b>Next 1000X Crypto \u2013 Here\u2019s 10+ Crypto Tokens That Can Hit 1000x This Year<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/news\/altcoins\/barcelona-crypto-nightmare-how-a-big-money-sponsorship-became-a-big-money-liability\/\">Barcelona Crypto Nightmare: How a Big Money Sponsorship Became a Big Money Liability<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/99bitcoins.com\/\">99Bitcoins<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new crypto partnership meant to steady FC Barcelona\u2019s finances has instead become a public headache within days. FC Barcelona is facing growing criticism after confirming in mid-November that a Samoa-based company, Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP), would act as the club\u2019s \u201cOfficial Cryptographic Protocol Partner.\u201d\u00a0 But by November 26, the club moved to distance itself from [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3,4,5],"class_list":["post-60997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-crypto","tag-doge","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60997","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60997"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60997\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60997"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60997"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dogewisperer.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60997"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}