TL;DR
- Barcelona signed a three-year deal with ZKP, a startup with no public team or known track record that launched 200 million tokens immediately after the announcement.
- The company, which followed only the club, Bitcoin, and Andrew Tate in its debut on X, avoided revealing its leadership, financing, or legal structure.
- The club, pressured by €469 million in net debt plus another €900 million tied to the stadium, insisted it has no connection to the token.
FC Barcelona pushes forward with a sponsorship agreement with a crypto startup that barely exists beyond paperwork and offers more unanswered questions than verifiable information.
Barcelona signed a three-year contract with Zero-Knowledge Proof, a Samoa-registered company with no public team, no known background, and no clear explanation for the $100 million it claims to have raised. The announcement raised doubts about a club operating under financial strain while opening its doors for an opaque firm to use its reach and brand power to promote a newly launched token.
ZKP Sold 200 Million Tokens After Announcing the Partnership
The deal made ZKP Barcelona’s official blockchain technology partner, even though the company appeared on X solely to announce the alliance. Its first post had only a few dozen followers and one detail analysts highlighted immediately: it followed only Barcelona, Bitcoin, and Andrew Tate. The company defended its anonymity as a technical choice and claimed to be made up of engineers, cryptographers, former founders, and “system killers.” Its website claims to promote transparency, yet it avoids mentioning a single real name, a legal representative, or the origin of the capital it declares.
The company held an auction of 200 million tokens days after the announcement, reinforcing suspicions that the sponsorship is being used to scale the sale. A statement from the club tried to separate both initiatives and said it had no connection to the asset, but the visibility provided by its digital channels creates an operational link that is impossible to ignore.
The situation escalated when a video of Andrew Tate promoting privacy systems to hide crypto began circulating on ZKP’s Telegram channel with the company’s logo attached. The firm also published statements by a supposed blockchain director named Jeff Wilck, a name with no verifiable traces and reminiscent of an Ethereum co-founder, though with no evidence supporting that connection.
Barcelona Drowning in Debt
Internal criticism grew within the club. Xavier Vilajoana, a former director and current presidential candidate, demanded clarity on what checks were done before signing. His stance aligns with experts who warn about the risk of encouraging fans to buy tokens from a company that does not offer basic assurances.
The financial factor is decisive for the institution. Barcelona is still burdened with €469 million in net debt plus another €900 million tied to the stadium. Added to that are the collapse of Barca Vision and construction delays that hinder revenue. In this context, an agreement with a firm of dubious origin not only exposes supporters; it also reveals the economic urgency of an institution trying to stabilize itself while opening the door to a partner that is difficult to justify
