REVEALED: Liverpool's NFT range fails with only 10,000 sold out of 171,000 available... but the auction continues to raise over ยฃ1m for the club and its charity in its much-maligned foray into the market cryptocurrencies
- Liverpool's foray into crypto is off to a very mixed start
- The Reds sold just 10,000 of a potential 171,000 NFTs put up for sale last week
- But total sales reached ยฃ1.125m, with over ยฃ280,000 going to the LFC Foundation.
- If all possible NFTs were sold, it could have raised around ยฃ8.5m.
- The fans were not happy with the move and accused the club of trying to exploit them.
Liverpool's controversial foray into the crypto world has seen the club sell less than 10,000 of a potential 171,000 non-fungible tokens.
The NFTs, digital works of art by stars including Mohamed Salah and manager Jurgen Klopp, were put up for sale at auctioneer Sotheby's for $75 (ยฃ57) each, $12.8m (ยฃ9.8m) at total.
The headline figure of 9,721 sales suggests it failed to attract anywhere near the investment the club had hoped for, with less than six per cent of potential NFTs sold.
However, Liverpool can still point to the revenue from the sale of their NFTs as reaching ยฃ1.125m, of which ยฃ281,374.98 goes to their charity, the LFC Foundation.
The randomly generated 'Hero' tokens, based on Klopp and 23 first-team players, were priced at $75 (ยฃ57.20), along with 24 unique 'Legendary' tokens. Salah and Klopp's artworks fetched more than $80,000 each at auction.
Liverpool sparked a furious reaction from fans after announcing plans to launch a collection of NFT late last month, which many saw as an attempt to exploit fans and generate more revenue in the process.
Sales of the digital assets began last week, with up to 171,072 possible artworks created by algorithm, although Liverpool insist this was never the sale expectation and unsold permutations were never minted.
Liverpool's controversial foray into the crypto world has apparently so far been unsuccessful. In the photo, two of his NFT: digital artworks by Mo Salah and Virgil van Dijk.
The Reds had around 171,000 potential NFTs based on Jurgen Klopp and his players for sale
Had the full number of possible NFTs been sold, the launch could have grossed over ยฃ8.5m in sales.
The sales figure also does not take into account the cost of producing NFTs, the commission owed to Sotheby's, and advertising fees.
"Where Liverpool shot themselves in the foot was by setting so many free," said Tim Mangnall, chief executive of Capital Block, NFT's consultants to the sports and entertainment industries. AM City.
"No club in the current state of the game was going to sell 171,000 NFTs in that short period without going leather crazy."
However, he added: 'Liverpool in general should be happy. It's very easy for everyone to criticize them, but they sold almost 10,000 and let their fans know about it and ultimately it's a good step for the industry to help create mass adoption."
But they have only sold 9,701 of the digital assets after putting them on the market.
Sports business expert Professor Simon Chadwick told City AM: 'One imagines that club officials will be somewhat disturbed by the results and indeed by the whole process.
"A combination of resistance to what the club is doing, disinterest in NFTs, the pricing strategy Liverpool have adopted and a lack of familiarity with what NFTs are and why someone should buy them have all contributed to the situation that Liverpool now faces.
Nike has also partnered with Liverpool in the venture, meaning the club is likely to get a fee from kit manufacturers after listing its brand on several NFTs.
