London Football Exchange unveils plan to launch new cryptocurrency

The London Football Exchange (LFE) has unveiled plans to launch its own cryptocurrency.

LFE has said that the cryptocurrency is intended to allow a ‘fan-driven football community’ the opportunity to take part in various club and fan experiences from match day tickets, tours, and player meet and greets, to specific merchandise and third-party partner offers.

Charles Pittar, Corporate CEO of London Football Exchange, said: “Our vision is to allow football clubs to take advantage of the token funding economy for their financing needs by providing them with a tokenised financing infrastructure which involves token design and issuance services.”

LFE engagement services will include LFE Points, a blockchain-enabled loyalty, rewards and offers platform.

In addition, LFE members will benefit through special discounts, exclusive offers, rewards and other incentives only available to LFE token holders. The more LFE token holders engage with their favourite clubs and leagues, the more LFE Points they will receive.

LFE has revealed that discussions are already underway with over 50 clubs, including Premier League Clubs and teams throughout Europe, USA and Australia.

For the clubs, the LFE tokens aim to also help them eliminate the antiquated ticketing technology from legacy operators that mean they pay fees ranging from 5% to 8% in commission based on the notional value of tickets sold.

As part of its Initial Token Offering, LFE will generate a total of 4 billion tokens with 2.4 billion tokens made available for general sale. The tokens will be priced at $0.20, which equates to a fundraising goal of approximately $350m.

The pre-sales run from 15th January 2018 to 11th February 2018, with the public sale taking place directly afterwards, from 12th February 2018 to 20th May 2018.

Scott Smith, Football CEO of London Football Exchange, added: “The LFE aims to become a “one-stop shop” for clubs of all sizes to raise capital via equity sales and also offer LFE contributors a wealth of fan experiences and social interaction.

“Clubs will be encouraged to offer some equity through the LFE and required to offer a minimum number of unique experiences or special offers so that the real fans can take part in their favourite clubs.”

LFE is being advised on the launch by law firm CMS.

Sam Robinson, a partner at CMS, said: “It is very exciting to advise LFE on establishing a business that is aiming to have an impact on the entire football industry using blockchain technology.

“As a firm, CMS has a particular focus on FinTech and we are delighted to be able to support businesses like LFE that are at the “cutting edge” of regulation and technology”.

The LFE Platform will use the Ripple and Stellar networks to support token issuance, trades, and transfers, with Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple all accepted as part of the token sale. Bank transfers of British Pounds, Euros, US Dollars, Australian Dollars and Swiss Francs will also be accepted.

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