CRYPTO.COM aims to sponsor more sports after committing to be the title sponsor for Formula One’s Florida event, the Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
The digital-asset exchange is targeting sports as a catalyst to reach non-crypto enthusiasts and “will double down on our strategy”, chief marketing officer Steven Kalifowitz told Bloomberg News ahead of race weekend.
The company has been the title sponsor of the Miami Grand Prix since the race debuted in 2022 in a 10-year deal worth over US$10 million. In addition to the Miami title, they are a global sponsor for the racing circuit in a five-year deal worth US$100 million.
Crypto firms have been sponsoring more sporting events since the dramatic collapse of FTX in 2022, which sparked legal action against celebrities who endorsed investing in the market, including sports stars Tom Brady and Steph Curry.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) was recently hit with a lawsuit over its marketing links to failed the crypto exchange Voyager Digital Holdings, which investors claim led to US$4.2 billion in losses.
Crypto.com are also partners with the NBA’s Philadelphia Sixers, football’s Paris Saint-Germain, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Australian Football League. The rapper Eminem recently narrated and tweeted an ad for the exchange during an NBA playoffs game, held at the eponymous Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
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F1 has been a particular focus, with Crypto.com, Binance and OKX inking deals with racing teams.
Crypto.com’s visibility has risen significantly since dedicating its marketing efforts to sports, Kalifowitz said, adding that Crypto.com now has over 100 million users.
The firm, which recently postponed its planned retail expansion in South Korea, is in the middle of a hiring drive that could see its headcount grow by a total of 1,400 people, after cutting a fifth of its staff in early 2023 to control costs following a market rout.
Chief executive officer Kris Marszalek told Bloomberg News in mid-April that he hopes to triple registered users from more than 80 million. BLOOMBERG
