SMU’s Mustang Coin Cryptocurrency Still Hasn’t Launched Yet

Hello, welcome to your Wednesday Deep Dive.

I hope you enjoy, because I had to learn terms I never wanna hear in my life ever again. Just for you.

As always, our Wednesday newsletters are for paid subscribers only. Don’t want to get annoyed when you hit the paywall in a few paragraphs?

Then upgrade now.

As the clock ticked down to kickoff last week, all eyes were on Lane Kiffin, waiting to see if he would defy the SEC and its ban on former NFL players.

Well, all eyes except mine. I was waiting to see if the sport’s first-ever cryptocurrency would launch.

This week, the national gaze was again on Lane Kiffin, as the SEC contemplated expelling LSU.

But as pundits and fans fretted that one man’s oppositional defiant disorder could lay waste to everything sacred about college athletics, I just kept wondering: where the heck is my Mustang Coin?

Back in June, SMU made headlines with an announcement of a revolutionary new product that would change the face of college athletics.

The university partnered with a new business endeavor, Krida Coin, to launch… well, it is, but it also isn’t… a cryptocurrency.

A press release from the school dubbed the new coin an “innovative partnership” that is “redefining how universities engage with their fans in the modern era.”

The news, coming in the dead of the offseason, was intriguing enough to merit coverage in a few local outlets.

In a story in D Magazine, Krida Coin’s founder declared: “This isn’t just a coin. It’s a new relationship between universities and the communities that already love them.”

SMU spoke to the Dallas Morning News, calling the project part of the “new reality of how college athletics has to operate,” adding that “the athletic departments that are going to thrive in this environment are the ones that are doing what we're doing."

No cryptocoin, no College Football Playoff.

Naturally, there was a supposed NIL component, with SMU saying revenue from the coin would go “right back into supporting student-athletes.”

But what exactly is it? It’s hard to explain, because you need to maintain the kayfabe of this being a revolutionary new tech venture and not just … people giving money to the school for things.

The company was founded by Bhavesh Kalia, a recent graduate of SMU’s Cox School of Business.

In Dallas Innovates, Mustang Coin was described as a “utility access credential,” and explicitly not a “security, investment contract, or financial instrument.”

Mustang fans could purchase the coin, which has no cash value, and redeem it for perks like seat upgrades, field access, athlete meet-and-greets, and other opportunities.

Which is the stuff programs give to donors in exchange for money all the time. I guess now it has blockchain.

The partnership also touted in-stadium experiences, including the Coin Toss Presented by Krida and Krida Fan Zones.

SMU plays its first home game this weekend, but I don’t think refs will be flipping a digital token at midfield.

Because three months after launching, the app doesn’t exist. The waitlist goes nowhere. And at least 22 imposter coins have beaten the real one to market.

Become a paid subscriber to follow my hunt for college football’s missing cryptocurrency.