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Kieran Maguire: Leeds have been sold 'magic beans' as crypto investigation revealed
Leeds United jumped on the cryptocurrency “magic beans” bandwagon because they consider it a “risk-free” revenue stream.
So says finance guru Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the Whites’ partnership with under-fire crypto firm Socios.
Leeds signed up with Socios in August last year and their official fan token, $LUFC, went live the following month.
The token, which began at around $6, spiked at around $19 in December but now sits at just below $3.
CEO Alexandre Dreyfus has illegally manipulated the value of the Chiliz currency which props up Socios, per Off the Pitch last Friday (11 March).
Maguire analysed why the likes of Leeds are involved with the crypto industry despite numerous warning signs.
“I think they bought into this because it was sold to them as zero-risk and zero-cost additional revenue,” he told Football Insider‘s Adam Williams.
“When you factor those in together, that makes it very attractive. Football clubs are losing money and they see crypto as a way of filling the gap.
“It’s high-risk but it’s not going to collapse altogether. It’s here to stay. It’s not high-risk from the club’s point of view because the stories will fade.
“If one of these tokens falls in value, as Leeds’ has in the past, that story is very quickly replaced by something to do with the team or manager.
“That is where fans’ main attention is. Also, there are an awful lot of people buying these tokens who aren’t interested in football at all.
“A lot of people in this market see football as yet another way of expanding their portfolio of magic beans.”
Multiple Leeds fan groups have condemned the club’s involvement with Socios.
The West Yorkshire club earned £14.4million in commercial income, according to their last set of accounts.
In other news, Leeds United employee issues verdict on senior star being axed after Liam Cooper reveal.