While traditional corporate governance typically involves shareholder meetings, proxy battles, and boardroom negotiations conducted through established channels, Juventus Football Club now finds itself traversing uncharted waters where cryptocurrency executives send increasingly desperate letters seeking audience with Italian soccer royalty.
Tether, the stablecoin issuer whose USDT token anchors much of crypto’s daily trading volume, has accumulated a 10.1% to 10.7% stake in the storied Turin club—a €128 million investment that makes the crypto giant Juventus’ second-largest shareholder behind the Agnelli family’s Exor holding company.
Despite commanding a €128 million stake as Juventus’ second-largest shareholder, Tether remains locked out of the Turin boardroom’s inner sanctum.
Yet despite this substantial equity position, Tether finds itself in the peculiar situation of owning a meaningful piece of European football royalty while being treated more like an unwelcome dinner guest.
The boardroom stonewalling has reached almost theatrical proportions. Juventus management has postponed any decisions regarding Tether’s influence until after the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup concludes in July, effectively creating a six-month cooling-off period.
CEO Paolo Ardoino, who publicly acknowledged both his company’s investment and his personal fandom, describes communication with club leadership as “very, very limited”—corporate speak that barely conceals mounting frustration. This resistance comes as the cryptocurrency industry increasingly moves from speculation to tangible utility, with institutions worldwide beginning to recognize digital assets’ practical applications.
This standoff occurs against Juventus’ troubling financial backdrop: €199 million in annual losses and liquidity constraints so severe that crypto firms reportedly refused participation in a recent €10-115 million funding round. The club’s devastating $230 million loss between 2023 and 2024 underscores the severity of its financial predicament.
The irony proves delicious—a club desperately needing capital simultaneously rejecting governance input from one of its largest investors.
Traditional soccer’s wariness toward crypto governance stems from the sector’s spectacular failures, particularly FTX’s collapse, which left numerous clubs holding worthless sponsorship contracts.
While Juventus happily accepts crypto money (witness their new €5 million annual WhiteBit sleeve sponsorship), granting actual decision-making power remains taboo. This crypto embrace extends beyond mere sleeve partnerships, as Juventus has cultivated relationships with multiple cryptocurrency exchanges since beginning with Bitget in 2021, followed by Zondacrypto before Azimut’s brief tenure.
Tether’s situation exemplifies crypto’s broader struggle for institutional legitimacy. The company can facilitate billions in daily trading volume and accumulate meaningful stakes in prestigious assets, yet still finds itself writing unanswered letters to soccer executives.
Perhaps this represents the ultimate test of cryptocurrency’s mainstream acceptance—not whether institutions will take crypto money, but whether they’ll grant crypto companies actual seats at decision-making tables.
