What is Chiliz? Chiliz (CHZ) is a cryptocurrency and the native gas token of Chiliz Chain, an EVM-compatible Layer 1 blockchain built for sports and entertainment applications. Its ecosystem connects blockchain infrastructure with Socios.com, Fan Tokens, digital collectibles, tokenized fan participation, and sports-focused decentralized applications.
Chiliz Chain technology and architecture
Chiliz Chain was previously associated with Chiliz 2.0 and is based on a fork of BNB Smart Chain, which itself derives from go-Ethereum. EVM compatibility allows developers to use Ethereum-oriented smart contracts, wallets, and development tools.
The network uses the Parlia consensus engine and Proof of Staked Authority, or PoSA. This combines staking with an authority-based validator system. Main Validators produce blocks, while candidate validators can participate when selected or when another validator is unavailable. Delegators allocate CHZ to validator pools and can receive staking rewards.
PoSA is designed to provide faster block production and lower transaction costs than Proof of Work. Its trade-off is a lower level of decentralization because block production is handled by a limited validator set. Security controls include validator elections, double-sign detection, slashing, liveness penalties, and governance rules requiring two-thirds agreement among active validators for proposals.
CHZ is used to pay transaction and smart-contract fees, transfer assets, stake or delegate to validators, and participate in network governance. It also supports Fan Tokens and other digital assets issued on Chiliz Chain.
What is Chiliz used for?
The main real-world use case is sports fan engagement. Socios.com allows users to acquire officially branded Fan Tokens associated with clubs, leagues, and sports organizations. These tokens can provide access to polls, rewards, merchandise, tickets, VIP experiences, digital collectibles, competitions, and other club-specific programs.
Fan Tokens are separate from CHZ. CHZ is the network’s native asset and is used for gas, payments, staking, and ecosystem activity, while Fan Tokens represent branded digital assets linked to particular sports organizations. Socios.com’s Web3 wallet update in 2024 was designed for approximately 2.3 million users and provided access to Chiliz Chain applications, including decentralized exchanges, prediction platforms, staking products, and cross-chain tools.
Who is behind Chiliz and where is it based?
Chiliz was founded in 2018 by Alexandre Dreyfus, who remains identified as the group’s founder and CEO. Socios.com launched in 2019, and Juventus became the first sports organization to issue an official Fan Token through the platform.
The wider ecosystem emerged from Mediarex Enterprises Limited, which serves as the holding company and intellectual-property owner for Chiliz and Socios.com. The current operating entity named in Chiliz materials is The Chiliz Group Limited, a Malta-incorporated company. It was previously named HX Entertainment Limited, with the name change effective 7 October 2025.
Malta is the country most directly confirmed as Chiliz’s operating base. Chiliz has also reported employees and operations in other locations, including France, Singapore, South Korea, Argentina, London, Paris, and Madrid. The available sources confirm Dreyfus and identify executives such as Group Chief Operating Officer Emma Diskin, but do not establish a separate founding team or confirm Maxim Madzharov as a founder or core developer.
CHZ was issued through private placements rather than a public ICO. The current white paper records a token-generation event that raised approximately $65 million at $0.032 per CHZ and distributed 3,066,666,666 CHZ, representing 35% of the original 8,888,888,888-token supply.
Tokenomics and supply
CoinStats records 10,547,235,757 CHZ in circulation and 10,547,235,757 CHZ as total supply. Chiliz’s original fixed-supply model changed after the Dragon8 hard fork in 2024 and the Pepper8 hard fork in 2025.
Under Tokenomics 2.0, new issuance is allocated 65% to validators and delegators, 10% to the Community Vault and liquidity-related programs, and 25% to ecosystem and operational distribution. The model began with an annual inflation rate of 8.80% and is designed to decline to a floor of 1.88% annually from the 14th year onward.
The network also burns CHZ through EIP-1559-style gas fees and Fan Token revenue buybacks. Chiliz states that 10% of Fan Token transaction and marketplace proceeds is used to buy CHZ from the market and permanently burn it. A September 2026 report recorded cumulative burns of 62,518,268.98689131 CHZ, including 13,459,678.274937 CHZ during that month. The long-term supply effect depends on burns relative to continuing protocol issuance.
Partnerships, development, and competitive position
Chiliz and Socios.com have worked with FC Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, Atlético de Madrid, Inter Milan, Arsenal, UFC, AC Milan, Galatasaray, and AS Roma. Paris Saint-Germain became a Chiliz Chain validator in 2024, while PSG and Arsenal Fan Tokens launched natively on Solana and Base in May 2026 as part of an omnichain expansion.
The Chiliz 2030 roadmap focuses on SportFi infrastructure, including cross-chain Fan Tokens, sports-focused decentralized exchanges and lending protocols, prediction markets, tokenized real-world sports assets, and digital collectibles linked to real-world experiences. Its main competitive advantage is specialization: Chiliz combines an existing sports partnership network with a consumer platform, EVM-compatible infrastructure, and direct utility for CHZ.
At the CoinStats snapshot captured on 6 October 2026, CHZ traded at $0.01702, with a 24-hour change of +0.27%. Its market cap was $179.52M (rank #292), 24-hour volume was $17.67M, and its all-time high was $0.8786, the current price is 98.06% below it.