Barcelona criticized for partnership with little-known crypto company

Prestigious Spanish club FC Barcelona is facing criticism after striking a sponsorship deal with relatively unknown cryptocurrency company Zero-Knowledge Proof (ZKP). The announcement has sparked serious concerns among supporters, who fear that the club is prioritizing revenue over prudence. Many fear that this partnership will encourage fans to interact with high-risk tokens without controlling the potential dangers.

Increased scrutiny of Barcelona's new crypto partner

In mid-November, Barcelona announced that ZKP would become its official crypto protocol partner until 2028. The company says it wants to protect fan data through cryptographic verification, ensuring secure and rigorously verifiable processing of information.

But soon, attention focused on his extremely limited public presence. Barcelona's announcement was ZKP's first post on X, where the company has only a few followers and only follows three accounts: FC Barcelona, ​​Bitcoin and Andrew Tate. ZKP bills itself as a blockchain company focused on privacy and decentralized AI, but its small digital footprint raises serious questions about its credibility.

The company name refers to a cryptographic method of proving ownership of an asset without revealing personal information. ZKP claims to apply these same confidentiality principles to its own operations. She declares having raised 100 million dollarsa claim that has not yet been publicly verified. The company says its team is made up of engineers, cryptographers and former founders, and insists its work should not be seen as a public relations operation.

Everyone asks: “Who is behind this?” As if knowing the names makes the code stronger. This is not the case. We are real, engineers, cryptographers, ex-founders, system destroyers. But we don't play the PR game. You will know us through what we have built, not through biographies. Hidden within the system is a riddle. Solve it, and you will see through the veil. This is your proof of work.

ZKP

Experts and former leaders question the deal

This lack of transparency worries many observers in the world of football. Martin Calladine, an author specializing in sports-related crypto issues, believes that this agreement is worryingrecalling several questionable partnerships signed by other clubs.

Xavier Vilajoana, former player and former manager of FC Barcelona, ​​who recently announced his candidacy for president of the club, shares these concerns. He considers the situation “very worrying” and questions the reasons which push the current management to associate the club with a company presenting so many red flags.

Barcelona clarify role amid ZKP controversy

Faced with escalating criticism, Barcelona issued a press release to clarify the scope of the agreement. The club emphasizes that:

• it has no connection with the token developed by the company;
• he does not participate in any way in its creation, management or use;
• the launch of the token is not part of the sponsorship agreement.

The club reaffirms “ its commitment to transparency and respect for its institutional agreements » and indicates that it will communicate any relevant information as soon as it is confirmed.

This controversy comes as Barcelona continues to face significant financial pressure. The club is still suffering from the consequences of its unsuccessful transfer period between 2017 and 2019, which deeply unbalanced its accounts. Despite this situation, Barça has increased initiatives related to digital assets in recent years. The club sold its first NFT for $693,000 at Sotheby's in July 2022, and its Fan Tokens, launched with Chiliz and Socios in June 2020, had generated $1.3 million in just two hours.