While You Invest In Crypto, Crypto’s Investing in Sponsorship
And here’s why you should care.
When I left my job as a financial writer in early 2020, cryptocurrency prices, and in particular, Bitcoin, were fluctuating.
One minute BTC price was at nearly $14,000, and then it was starting the new year at less than $8,000. Months later, it hit $30,000 and then a whopping $60,000. Such a climb brought a lot of new interest into the crypto space.
Then last month, BTC price plunged, reaching a monthly low of $28,908.
People become scared.
“The Chinese crackdown has caused a lot of fear…The digital asset ecosystem got punched in the face.” — Teddy Vallee, CIO at Pervalle Global.
Indeed, the market lost a lot of its value in 2021. It could take time for cryptocurrencies to go mainstream again.
However, before turning our back on the industry, it’s worth seeing what crypto platforms themselves are investing in. For instance, why is the world of sports so attractive to popular cryptocurrency exchanges?
Exploring these things can show us the direction the industry may be heading in the future.
Cryptocurrency And Sport Sponsorships
A week after announcing a partnership with Formula 1, Crypto.com, a burgeoning crypto platform with ten million users worldwide, signed a historic deal with the UFC, forecasted to be worth more than $150 million over the next ten years.
Crypto.com first shone a light on its attraction to the sports industry when it partnered with NHL team the Montreal Canadiens in March 2021. Two months later, Crypto.com sponsored the Coppa Italia final between football teams Juventus and Atalanta.
However, it would seem more announcements could be forthcoming, as CMO Steve Kalifowitz stated the brand was “just getting started.”
This attitude was reiterated by CEO Kris Marszalek, who spoke with Cheddar News to discuss why the sports industry is so attractive for the cryptocurrency exchange.
According to Marszalek, who is also the co-founder of Crypto.com, the investment in sports sponsorship is all about brand awareness.
“Our mission as a company is ‘taking cryptocurrency mainstream’ and there is no better way to make sure you’re in front of billions of people than going through sport.” — Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek.
For example, the global sports market is forecasted to increase from $388.28 billion in 2020 to $440.77 billion in 2021, and in 2019, 154.4 million viewers in the U.S. watched live sports content at least once per month, and this figure is expected to rise to more than 160 million by 2024.
While these figures don’t highlight which sports brought in the most viewers, this is still huge, especially given that UFC and Formula 1 are two rapidly growing fan favourites!
The UFC and Formula 1 have roughly 625 and 400 million fans, respectively. For perspective, this gives Crypto.com brand visibility to 1 billion fans. What’s more, Marszalek understands that “some of these sports have a very natural overlap between the cryptocurrency core user base and the fans of the sport.”
This is well-evidenced by its partnership with Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1.
On March 23, Crypto.com disclosed it was launching an NFT platform with exclusive content from Aston Martin Cognizant F1. As such, sponsorship provides an opportunity to serve the core user base and communicate with them more directly.
It’s a model other cryptocurrency exchanges could follow in the future, such as Binance, as they create their own NFT platforms.
The Future Of Crypto
No doubt it’s been a tough month for cryptocurrencies as they navigate a two-month correction period, and investors may be deciding whether to continue investing in crypto.
That’s their choice, but it’s crucial to look elsewhere in the industry before making a decision. Knowing what crypto platforms themselves are investing in is a huge tell as to where the industry will be in the future.
