Chiliz.com's ARG Token Experiences Sudden Collapse After Argentina's World Cup Success: Is It A 'Pump and Dump' Scheme?

The official crypto token of the Argentine Football Association ARG/USD was down 54% since Argentina defeated France to win the World Cup, Sunday, Dec. 18. 

On the day of the final match, the token started at $6.02 and ended the day at $2.66.

Days earlier, ARG had increased by nearly 70% following the team's victory over Croatia, reaching a price of $5.40 as soon as the game was over.

Following the World Cup finals, the token's market cap also decreased.

After the team qualified for the tournament finals, the token’s market capitalization rose to over $19 million, which shrank to under $10 million less than two days later.

The token is a part of the Chiliz.com ecosystem and was first issued in June 2021. It is offered on the Socios.com website.

The official fan tokens for other football teams, including Manchester City CITY/USD, FC Barcelona BAR/USD and Paris Saint-Germain PSG/USD, are also offered on Socios.com.

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The first cryptocurrency coin designed for a national team, fans who purchased ARG on Socios.com could also have a tokenized share of influence over club decisions.

For instance, ARG conducted a vote for token owners in 2021, asking them to select the phrase that would be painted on the squad's bus and plane as the team traveled to matches.

ARG also provided signed merchandise, player meet-and-greet opportunities and VIP access to the "Monumental," the home stadium of River Plate, in Buenos Aires.

Just three hours after its release, the ARG token was completely sold out: a total of 600,000 tokens were purchased for $2 apiece.

“Argentine football must continue to grow, increasing its audience and global visibility. To achieve this growth, it’s important that we partner with global leading brands willing to work shoulder-to-shoulder with AFA in the same direction. We warmly welcome Socios.com to the Argentine league,” according to Argentine Football Association President Claudio "Chiqui" Tapia at the time.

Some supporters reasoned that if Argentina won the championship game, the value of the ARG token would increase even further. However, it turned out to be the exact opposite.

The recent collapse is expected to be normal as the World Cup's interest and speculative growth were the key factors in its price increase. Trader motivation to invest decreased after the championship, which caused ARG to fall.

But commenters on CoinMarketCap referred to it as a "scam" or "pump and dump" scheme.

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Photo: Morrowind via Shutterstock