There are good reasons why crypto exchanges pay millions just to become visible in mainstream sports. According to new research, sports fans are twice more likely familiar with cryptocurrencies than non-fans. 47% of sports fans know cryptos while 27% decided to put their skin in the game owning the volatile digital asset.
From an unknown to becoming a household name, FTX positioned itself as a major crypto exchange by latching itself into sports.
FTX is a Jack-of-all-trades in today’s crypto space. It comes with functionalities such as being a crypto wallet to having its NFT platform.
FTX raised $1 billion in 2021 giving the company the needed jet fuel to get to where it is now. With its expansion, FTX CEO and Founder, Sam Bankman-Fried became the youngest person in Forbes 400 list at 29 years old. The CEO had a net worth of $22.5 billion.
FTX Reaching Sports Fans
It just did a bit of everything to reach sports fans in 2021. For starters, FTX signed a deal as the first crypto partner for MLB. FTX also gained the rights to use player highlights for its content. This year, we’ve seen all umpires having the FTX.US logo on their sleeves.
FTX also paid $210 million for the naming rights of esports organization TSM. The organization changed its name to TSM FTX after the deal.
Bank-Fried told the New York Times that “Taking a huge industry and then reimagining it in a digital age: that’s sort of what esports are to sports, and it’s sort of what crypto is to investing and to finance”.
And even before Crypto.com went after Staples Center, FTX secured the naming rights for the Miami Heat’s home. The former American Airlines Center is now FTX Arena.
FTX is also sponsoring individual athletes from different sports. It amassed athletes from the NBA to NFL. FTX signed NBA star Stephen Curry, MLB’s Shohei Otani, and NFL’s Tom Brady.
The crypto exchange also went after college basketball. FTX sponsored the University of Kentucky’s basketball team.
FTX Vice President of Business Development Avid Dabir said in a press release that “We’re thrilled to work with players from one of the most successful collegiate basketball programs in the country”. He added that: “Outside of the well-deserved financial compensation, we will be assisting in the student athletes’ education of digital assets so that they can make informed investment decisions as they look to enter the space”.
What’s next for FTX in 2022? With such big moves, sports fans and crypto believers can expect bigger things this year for the company.
