They have sponsored Formula One. They have also partnered with The Canadiens. And now CRYPTO.COM have made their move into football, as they become an official sponsor for Lega Serie A.
Exchange platform Crypto.com announced their partnership with Italian soccer league Lega Serie A on Twitter. This revelation, which was posted on May 8, followed the league’s own confirmation of the same, shared on May 7. The updated on the official Lega Serie A Twitter account read:
“We are proud to be the first Football League to step into the world of cryptocurrency and NFT platform. We share the same passion for Calcio, technology and future thinking and we’re excited to welcome @cryptocom“.
As a launch for this partnership, Crypto.com will sponsor the Coppa Italia final between Atalanta and Juventus. The match is scheduled for May 19.
To commemorate the final, a collection of NFTs are also set for release. According to reports, feature match highlights and the trophy will feature among the collection.
Crypto.com’s other sport sponsorships
Their collaboration with Lega Serie A is hardly Crypto.com’s first foray into the world of sponsoring sport. Or, indeed, the first time they intend to launch an NFT collection as part of that collaboration. In both cases, that began earlier in the year, when the Hong Kong-based exchange announced a partnership with the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team.
The Aston Martin racing team launched NFTs with Crypto.com in recognition of their return to F1 after a 60-year absence. These included 250 minted versions of both Lance Stroll and Sebastian Vettel’s inaugural runs. Some of these NFTs are still up for auction now.
Only two weeks later, Crypto.com revealed they had entered into another sporting sponsorship deal. This time, with NHL team The Montreal Canadiens. On this occasion, there were no special product launches tied to the collaboration. Nevertheless, reports indicate that it is part of the marketing plan to drive traffic to the Crypto.com mobile app.
Crypto’s presence in sport
Crypto.com’s interests in sport and sponsorship is by no means a new thing. While it has been on a definite rise this year, the first major Bitcoin (BTC) sports deal was reported all the way back in 2014. This was when BitPay sponsored the St. Petersburg Bowl. As part of the agreement, the event was called the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl for the following four years.
Looking more recently, at the end of March, it was reported that the crypto exchange FTX had won a naming rights agreement with NBA side Miami Heat. They had entered into talks about the agreement earlier in the month. As a result of the 19-year partnership, for which FTX paid $135 million, Miami Heat’s home court would be renamed from American Airlines Arena to FTX Arena.
