In Brief:
- Manchester City ends collaboration with crypto firm 3Key Technologies.
- 3Key officials’ lack of digital footprint is cited as the main reason for the suspension.
- 3Key-related websites went temporarily offline when the irregularities were discovered.
Sports club giant Manchester City announced they have ended their partnership with the crypto startup 3Key technologies.
According to reports, the deal was suspended after it was discovered that the crypto firm’s officials couldn’t be found online.
3Key Technologies is reportedly registered in Seychelles, however, there is no evidence of its existence in Seychelles’ company database.
City appointed the firm as an “official regional partner in decentralized finance trading analysis” in November as part of the Premier League champions’ economic expansion.
The startup was supposed to be launching a product in the next few months and has signed a deal with City to focus on regions apart from the U.K.
However, suspicions were raised about 3Key after those in charge of the company did not emerge in relevant online searches.
3Key’s credibility was quickly questioned when it was discovered that the company’s website lacked contact information, a registered office, or a company number. During the same week, 3Key-related websites went temporarily offline.
“Manchester City conducts due diligence in respect of all of its partnerships. Manchester City’s partnership with 3Key Technologies has been announced but has not been activated in respect of any specific products or services in any part of the world,” stated the club’s spokesperson.
This is not the first time Manchester City has been involved in the crypto space. Last March Manchester City debuted its CITY fan token in partnership with Socios. The token gives fans a chance to claim VIP rewards and club promotions.
To no one’s surprise, there was a boom in partnerships between football clubs, football players, etc with a range of crypto firms in 2021 as everyone wants a little piece of what the crypto world has in its hand. Football fans spent more than $350M on virtual fan tokens in 2021 with clubs like Barcelona FC and Juventus FC making the most profits.
