Rewards Program Powered by Polkadot
Beneficiary:Overview
This is a revised proposal for the IMCF Rewards Program, the official fan engagement platform for Inter Miami CF (IMCF), powered by Polkadot. Following the community’s rejection of Referendum 1575, we have scaled back the initial scope to focus on onboarding users and leveraging the partnership’s assets to deliver unparalleled fan experiences. This proposal requests $250,000 paid in USDC to cover platform licensing, development, activation, and deployment, with IMCF and MLS support reducing the community’s financial burden.
Background
The original referendum (https://polkadot.subsquare.io/referenda/1575) proposed a broader platform, including a predictions market, built with Galactic. The community voted it down, citing concerns over scope and cost. Since November 2024, we have worked with Major League Soccer (MLS) to secure approvals for a blockchain-based fan engagement application. MLS created a new category, “Blockchain Technologies,” recognizing Polkadot’s technological potential beyond finance or crypto. We have now obtained approval to build an application leveraging Polkadot’s blockchain, marking a pivotal moment to act.
We have partnered with Smart Media Technologies (SMT), the industry leader in fan engagement platforms, which has on boarded over 10 million fans for global brands like the Olympics, Manchester City, FIFA, NBA, 49’ers, XGames, Huntington Bank/Live Nation, NY Yankees/NY Life, Visa, and more (https://www.smartmediatech.io/fan-engagement-solutions).
SMT will power the IMCF Rewards Program, ensuring enterprise-grade quality and immediate time-to-value. The SMT fan engagement SaaS platform is a proven turn-key solution that rewards fandom through tokenized rewards and delivers higher ROI for sponsors by enabling Polkadot to easily onboard, engage and reward fans.
Revised Scope
The IMCF Rewards Program will focus on:
- Onboarding Fans: Rapid deployment to engage Inter Miami’s global fanbase, leveraging Lionel Messi’s unparalleled reach (third-most-followed person globally).
- Money-Can’t-Buy Experiences: Free access to exclusive rewards, such as VIP matchday experiences, player meet-and-greets, and signed merchandise, powered by Polkadot’s blockchain for transparency and security.
- Scalable Engagement: A foundation for future features, like fan governance and predictions markets, to be implemented in later phases based on community feedback.
SMT will handle platform development, and IMCF has committed to covering management fees, with additional resource support from the club and MLS, minimizing community costs.
Budget
We request $250,000, allocated as follows:
- $200,000: SMT platform licensing and development fees for a fully functional fan engagement app.
- $50,000: Activation, user acquisition, and deployment costs to maximize adoption.
This budget covers all upfront costs for the program’s launch and operation through the 2025 season, including IMCF’s playoff run. IMCF retains the option to extend the program into 2026.
Strategic Value
This partnership positions Polkadot as a leader in Web3 fan engagement:
- Unmatched Exposure: Messi’s global influence (charges $1-5M per post) amplifies Polkadot’s brand through organic media, training days, and matchday imagery, at no additional cost. Our CPM rates have outperformed.
- MLS Endorsement: MLS’s creation of a “Blockchain Technologies” category and approval for this application validate Polkadot’s technological leadership, opening doors to further league partnerships.
- Scalable Model: Success with IMCF and SMT, which has onboarded 25 million fans, creates a blueprint for sports clubs, leagues, and entertainment properties to adopt on-chain fan governance and rewards.
- Ecosystem Synergy: Polkadot’s ecosystem is thriving—Mythical leads gaming, Hydration dominates DeFi, and Nova secures the wallet space, all funded by the treasury. The IMCF Rewards Program complements these efforts, showcasing Polkadot’s versatility with a high-profile marketing opportunity.
Why Now?
The fan engagement market is shifting to Web3, with clubs and leagues adopting blockchain for governance and rewards. MLS’s approval is a green light to act, and SMT’s expertise ensures delivery. Backed by IMCF’s funding and Messi’s global appeal, this is a low-risk, high-reward chance to showcase Polkadot’s technology. If we delay, another chain will seize this opportunity. The Polkadot ecosystem is ready—gaming, DeFi, and wallets are locked in. Now is the time to leverage the world’s most marketable athlete and a committed club partnership to drive adoption.
Risks and Mitigation
- Risk: Community skepticism from the prior referendum’s rejection.
Mitigation: Scaled-back scope, clear budget, and IMCF/MLS support demonstrate fiscal responsibility. - Risk: Adoption challenges.
Mitigation: SMT’s track record (10M+ fans onboarded) and Messi’s appeal ensure engagement. Marketing funds will drive acquisition. - Risk: Future feature creep.
Mitigation: Phased approach prioritizes core functionality, with community input for expansions.
Call to Action
The IMCF Rewards Program is more than an app—it’s a gateway to redefining fan engagement on Polkadot. With MLS approval, SMT’s expertise, IMCF’s support, and Messi’s global reach, we have the partnerships, technology, and vision to lead Web3 innovation. The Polkadot ecosystem is flourishing, and this is our chance to showcase its potential through one of the largest marketing opportunities in sports. Will the community seize this moment, or let another chain claim the future of fan engagement?
Vote to fund the IMCF Rewards Program. Let’s build history together.
As a reminder, the vision for this partnership, which was voted on by the community, has always been to move forward to showcase the technology pending the league's approval of a fan engagement application. That approval has now been secured, Inter Miami CF is engaged and excited about a new way to reach their fans, and we are committed to seeing this initiative through as planned. Watch the original vision here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgArBLSbt3o
About the SMT Fan Engagement Solution
The SMT Fan Engagement Platform is an enterprise-grade, SaaS-based solution designed to transform passive audiences into deeply engaged fan communities that drive real economic impact. Proven across the world’s most iconic sports brands—including FIFA, NBA, the Olympics, and Manchester City—this platform consistently delivers 10x fan engagement, setting a new benchmark for how sports organizations activate and monetize their audiences.
Enterprise-Grade & Proven at Global Scale
Trusted by global leaders such as Visa and the International Olympic Committee, SMT’s platform has already onboarded over 10 million fans, demonstrating the scale, security, and reliability that top-tier clubs, leagues, and sponsors require. Built to handle the demands of the largest sporting properties, it ensures seamless execution and compliance at every level.
Lightning-Fast Deployment
Unlike fragmented tech stacks that take months to integrate, the SMT platform is built for speed. Clubs and partners like Polkadot can launch a fully branded fan engagement app in a matter of weeks. With a two-click onboarding experience, fans are immediately immersed—reducing friction and maximizing early adoption.
Engaging Fans at Home and In the Stadium
The platform is engineered to reach fans wherever they are—inside the stadium or across the globe. Its features include:
- AI-powered discovery feeds that deliver tailored challenges, content, and experiences, keeping fans coming back day after day.
- Gamified quests like AR treasure hunts or having it Polkadot Points in AR with every goal and interactions that build emotional loyalty and deepen the connection.
- A dynamic marketplace where fans can redeem their Polkadot Points for priceless experiences like VIP matchday access, player meet-and-greets, and exclusive merchandise—turning engagement into unforgettable memories.
Purpose-Built for On-Chain and Off-Chain Rewards
SMT’s flexible architecture supports both on-chain and off-chain loyalty ecosystems, making it the perfect bridge between the blockchain-powered Polkadot community and traditional sports fans. Whether rewards are recorded on-chain for transparency or delivered through classic digital mechanisms, fans enjoy a seamless, intuitive experience.
From Issuing Points to Driving Profits
While the immediate focus is on scaling fan engagement through Polkadot Points, this program is also strategically laying the groundwork for the next phase: driving ancillary revenue streams by bringing other IMCF sponsors onto the platform. This evolution turns the app into a powerful commercial ecosystem—transforming it from a pure cost center into a growth engine that can generate millions in potential profits. A portion of these revenues can flow back to the Polkadot community, helping offset the platform’s costs and demonstrating how on-chain loyalty programs can directly benefit token ecosystems both directly through revenue share and indirectly through token appreciation.
Why This Matters for Polkadot and MLS
By deploying SMT’s proven platform, Polkadot can immediately leverage its investment in the Inter Miami CF sponsorship, driving rapid ROI while showcasing its technology to millions of fans inspired by Lionel Messi’s unmatched global influence. It establishes a scalable model that can extend across the entire MLS and beyond, positioning Polkadot as the blockchain that powers the future of sports loyalty, engagement, and shared economic upside.
✅ In essence: The SMT Fan Engagement Platform turns passive audiences into active, emotionally connected fan bases—moving from simply handing out loyalty points to generating potential tangible profits that fuel both the club’s ambitions and the broader Polkadot ecosystem.
Interview with CEO Tyler Moebius - Smart Media Technologies - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Vo75apyzc
Co-Founder Reeve Collins - Smart Media Technologies - https://reevecollins.com/
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Comments (2)
Another polished marketing deck trying to justify another $250K money grab.
I still don’t see tangible value for the Polkadot ecosystem. We're talking about onboarding "fans" into a closed loyalty app using Polkadot tech in the background, but
Where is actual DOT or parachain usage?
Where is the on-chain integration beyond basic tokenized points?
How is this different from Web2 fan apps except for some backend buzzwords?
Where is ecosystem synergy? Will these users onboard to Nova Wallet? Stake DOT? Use DeFi? Unclear.
SMT's track record is impressive, sure, but their success doesn’t automatically become ours. “Exposure” from Messi only matters if it drives users into our ecosystem, not just downloads for a white-labeled fan app.
The proposal feels more like a proof-of-partnership for the proposers than a proof-of-impact for Polkadot.
I’m not against fan engagement, but I’m against calling marketing and SaaS licensing “ecosystem growth” unless it delivers on-chain metrics, not just impressions and buzzwords (yet again).
Thank you for laying this out so candidly — these are exactly the tough questions that keep us honest and focused on real outcomes. Let me try to speak to them point by point.
Where is actual DOT or parachain usage?
Fair question. The structure of this program is deliberately phased, precisely to avoid overpromising on immediate DeFi or staking metrics before we build the funnel. Here’s how it’s designed:
Phase 1: Onboard millions into the Polkadot-powered fan ecosystem via SMT’s platform — a fun, custodial first step (yes, intentionally) where users earn Polkadot Points.
Phase 2: Those points begin being issued on Moonbeam, moving from an off-chain loyalty system to an on-chain asset secured by Polkadot’s shared security. This unlocks swaps via Asset Hub or other means, where fans can start converting loyalty into other cryptos — DOT or otherwise.
Phase 3: The program actively guides users to Nova Wallet for self-custody. The entire UX is built around ultimately encouraging them to hold DOT, swap, participate in governance, and discover DeFi — because it’s the natural progression once they see the value of their on-chain assets.
So yes, today’s ask largely covers the critical first stage, but it’s literally the only proven onramp we have to millions of non-crypto users who could one day become DOT holders or stakers. I beleive
How is this different from a Web2 loyalty app?
It’s a smart challenge. The short version: because the infrastructure is explicitly designed to migrate fans into on-chain ownership and utility, step by step.
Web2 fan apps give out worthless, walled-garden points.
The IMCF program is built on Polkadot from day one, with rewards destined to migrate to Moonbeam, interoperate via XCM, and swap through Asset Hub.
That means fans’ “loyalty” becomes portable digital property they can hold, trade, or use across the Polkadot ecosystem — not just spend inside an app.
This is how you bootstrap demand for DOT and parachain usage in a consumer-friendly way that no purely financial or yield-based product can.
Where is ecosystem synergy? Will they stake DOT? Use DeFi?
Absolutely valid. No illusions here: fans won’t stake DOT on day one. But the point is to give them a reason to enter the ecosystem at all.
Fans start by downloading a Polkadot-branded app to earn rewards tied to Messi and IMCF.
They then learn those rewards have real liquidity via Moonbeam and Asset Hub — they can swap for other tokens.
From there, education inside the app (and SMT’s proven gamified quests) nudges them to self-custody with Nova Wallet.
Once they’re holding on-chain assets, DeFi and staking become not a theoretical pitch, but the next logical step.
So the ecosystem synergy is absolutely there — just sequenced to match how normal consumers behave.
Why SMT’s success matters for Polkadot
You’re right: SMT’s previous wins don’t automatically translate to us. That’s why the entire commercial model here is structured around:
IMCF and MLS taking financial stake, covering management fees, reducing treasury exposure.
SMT building specifically on Polkadot: points are not just on a random database — they’ll live on Moonbeam, swap via Asset Hub, drive wallet downloads for Nova.
The value prop is not just Messi exposure. It’s using that exposure as a magnet to bring fans into an ecosystem we control — where they’ll first hold Polkadot Points, then swap them, then explore further. It’s the only path we have today to millions of non-crypto users who might ever care about DOT.
Why this is more than a “proof-of-partnership”
I hear you loud and clear on skepticism of slick decks. The difference is:
This isn’t a speculative demo or another “hackathon prize.”
It’s a fully funded, club-endorsed, league-approved fan engagement program with Messi, tied explicitly to the Polkadot brand.
It moves loyalty on-chain, in our ecosystem, creating tangible new demand for swaps, wallets, assets.
Bottom line
If we keep chasing pure developer adoption hoping end-users will follow, we’ll keep seeing the same results. This flips it: onboard millions of fans first, give them assets inside Polkadot, then incentivize developers to come build experiences for them — not the other way around.
Thanks again for pushing for rigor and true on-chain accountability. Happy to even workshop with you a clearer metrics roadmap (like Moonbeam mint volume, Asset Hub swap activity, Nova Wallet conversions) so we can prove this is more than impressions.
Another polished marketing deck trying to justify another $250K money grab.
I still don’t see tangible value for the Polkadot ecosystem. We're talking about onboarding "fans" into a closed loyalty app using Polkadot tech in the background, but
Where is actual DOT or parachain usage?
Where is the on-chain integration beyond basic tokenized points?
How is this different from Web2 fan apps except for some backend buzzwords?
Where is ecosystem synergy? Will these users onboard to Nova Wallet? Stake DOT? Use DeFi? Unclear.
SMT's track record is impressive, sure, but their success doesn’t automatically become ours. “Exposure” from Messi only matters if it drives users into our ecosystem, not just downloads for a white-labeled fan app.
The proposal feels more like a proof-of-partnership for the proposers than a proof-of-impact for Polkadot.
I’m not against fan engagement, but I’m against calling marketing and SaaS licensing “ecosystem growth” unless it delivers on-chain metrics, not just impressions and buzzwords (yet again).
Thank you for laying this out so candidly — these are exactly the tough questions that keep us honest and focused on real outcomes. Let me try to speak to them point by point.
Where is actual DOT or parachain usage?
Fair question. The structure of this program is deliberately phased, precisely to avoid overpromising on immediate DeFi or staking metrics before we build the funnel. Here’s how it’s designed:
Phase 1: Onboard millions into the Polkadot-powered fan ecosystem via SMT’s platform — a fun, custodial first step (yes, intentionally) where users earn Polkadot Points.
Phase 2: Those points begin being issued on Moonbeam, moving from an off-chain loyalty system to an on-chain asset secured by Polkadot’s shared security. This unlocks swaps via Asset Hub or other means, where fans can start converting loyalty into other cryptos — DOT or otherwise.
Phase 3: The program actively guides users to Nova Wallet for self-custody. The entire UX is built around ultimately encouraging them to hold DOT, swap, participate in governance, and discover DeFi — because it’s the natural progression once they see the value of their on-chain assets.
So yes, today’s ask largely covers the critical first stage, but it’s literally the only proven onramp we have to millions of non-crypto users who could one day become DOT holders or stakers. I beleive
How is this different from a Web2 loyalty app?
It’s a smart challenge. The short version: because the infrastructure is explicitly designed to migrate fans into on-chain ownership and utility, step by step.
Web2 fan apps give out worthless, walled-garden points.
The IMCF program is built on Polkadot from day one, with rewards destined to migrate to Moonbeam, interoperate via XCM, and swap through Asset Hub.
That means fans’ “loyalty” becomes portable digital property they can hold, trade, or use across the Polkadot ecosystem — not just spend inside an app.
This is how you bootstrap demand for DOT and parachain usage in a consumer-friendly way that no purely financial or yield-based product can.
Where is ecosystem synergy? Will they stake DOT? Use DeFi?
Absolutely valid. No illusions here: fans won’t stake DOT on day one. But the point is to give them a reason to enter the ecosystem at all.
Fans start by downloading a Polkadot-branded app to earn rewards tied to Messi and IMCF.
They then learn those rewards have real liquidity via Moonbeam and Asset Hub — they can swap for other tokens.
From there, education inside the app (and SMT’s proven gamified quests) nudges them to self-custody with Nova Wallet.
Once they’re holding on-chain assets, DeFi and staking become not a theoretical pitch, but the next logical step.
So the ecosystem synergy is absolutely there — just sequenced to match how normal consumers behave.
Why SMT’s success matters for Polkadot
You’re right: SMT’s previous wins don’t automatically translate to us. That’s why the entire commercial model here is structured around:
IMCF and MLS taking financial stake, covering management fees, reducing treasury exposure.
SMT building specifically on Polkadot: points are not just on a random database — they’ll live on Moonbeam, swap via Asset Hub, drive wallet downloads for Nova.
The value prop is not just Messi exposure. It’s using that exposure as a magnet to bring fans into an ecosystem we control — where they’ll first hold Polkadot Points, then swap them, then explore further. It’s the only path we have today to millions of non-crypto users who might ever care about DOT.
Why this is more than a “proof-of-partnership”
I hear you loud and clear on skepticism of slick decks. The difference is:
This isn’t a speculative demo or another “hackathon prize.”
It’s a fully funded, club-endorsed, league-approved fan engagement program with Messi, tied explicitly to the Polkadot brand.
It moves loyalty on-chain, in our ecosystem, creating tangible new demand for swaps, wallets, assets.
Bottom line
If we keep chasing pure developer adoption hoping end-users will follow, we’ll keep seeing the same results. This flips it: onboard millions of fans first, give them assets inside Polkadot, then incentivize developers to come build experiences for them — not the other way around.
Thanks again for pushing for rigor and true on-chain accountability. Happy to even workshop with you a clearer metrics roadmap (like Moonbeam mint volume, Asset Hub swap activity, Nova Wallet conversions) so we can prove this is more than impressions.