Copper.co CEO: “Motorsports has embraced crypto”
Sir Lewis Hamilton can now be seen wearing the FTX logo
The worlds of sports and crypto have intertwined a great deal in recent times, with numerous well-known sports teams and organisations signing up to partnerships with crypto firms.
Which sport has embraced crypto the most, though? After several Formula 1 teams signed deals with crypto firms, the CEO of Copper.co exclusively told Currency.com, that he feels “motorsports has particularly embraced crypto”.
Copper.co is a UK group that specialises in crypto custody and trading for institutional investors. In October 2021, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Lord Philip Hammond joined the firm as a senior adviser.
Dmitry Tokarev, CEO of Copper.co, said: “Big, well-known sporting organisations partnering with crypto firms is without a doubt a positive development for our industry. Motorsports has particularly embraced crypto, as we have seen from major partnerships over the last three years between the likes of FTX, Mercedes and F1 to name just a few.”
In January 2022, Copper.co announced a multi-year partnership with the Formula E World Championship. Formula E, officially the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, is a single-seater motorsport championship for electric cars.
Commenting on the partnership, Tokarev said: “Most recently, Copper partnered with all-electric racing series Formula E to become its official Digital Asset Services Partner, to pave the way for future cooperation in the digital asset space.
“A world-renowned, future-focused brand like Formula E endorsing crypto – among other big brands and partnership deals – increases the visibility of the sector at a global level, as well as awareness of the latest innovation in the space,” Tokarev said.
Crypto and motorsports
As the Copper.co CEO mentioned, other motorsports brands have also partnered with crypto, such as the Mercedes F1 Team, who announced a long-term partnership with cryptocurrency derivatives exchange FTX in September 2021.
The Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team’s partnership deal with FTX will span multiple race seasons. As part of the deal, the FTX logo will be featured on drivers’ suits and on the cars themselves. The FTX logo made its Formula 1 debut at the Russian Grand Prix on 26 September 2021.
As a team partner, the FTX logo will also be placed on the team’s fleet of Mercedes-Benz trucks, in the garage and in the trackside hospitality and communications facilities. Team member and racing icon Sir Lewis Hamilton can now be seen wearing the FTX logo to “further expand the reach of the FTX brand to F1's global fan base through marketing initiatives”.
In August 2021, Formula 1 also announced the Crypto.com Overtake Award. The winner of the award will be the driver who has succesfully completed the most overtaking manoeuvres during a season.
Crypto.com is the world’s fastest-growing crypto platform. According to F1, the award, “which is the first of its kind, is designed to celebrate the bravery exhibited by drivers who make bold moves in pursuit of success”. Drivers who win the award will be referred to as the “master of the pass”.
Then, in February 2022, Crypto.com made another Formula 1-related announcement, this time specifically concerning the Miami Grand Prix. The crypto platform became the official title partner of the Miami F1 race.
Crypto in other sports
While Tokarev has been waving the flag for motorsports and their embrace of crypto, there are others who believe different sports have taken the lead when it comes to crypto partnerships.
Julian Liniger, co-founder and CEO of Relai, a bitcoin (BTC) investment app that aims to make BTC more accessible, told Currency.com that in his opinion, “Football has embraced the crypto industry the most”.
Liniger said: “Crypto is full of big sponsorship deals involving reputable football clubs as well as big leagues with crypto exchanges like Crypto.com. Then you’ve got experiments with fan tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) through crypto providers like Chiliz, and even famous players like Lionel Messi getting paid in cryptocurrency.
“I think the more the BTC and crypto industry makes its way into the mainstream and the bigger it grows, the more it will also find its way into sports sponsorship, as it’s a great way to drive reach and brand awareness for crypto businesses,” said Liniger
Chiliz is a global blockchain provider for the sports industry and has launched Fan Tokens for numerous top tier football clubs on its fan engagement and reward app, Socios.com.
Six Premier League clubs have signed up to partnerships with Chiliz and launched a Fan Token: Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Everton, Arsenal and Manchester City. Other major European clubs that have signed similar deals with Chiliz/Socios and launched Fan Tokens include Juventus FC, Atletico Madrid, AS Roma, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and AC Milan.
Elsewhere, Crypto.com signed a multi-year partnership with the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) Libertadores, the governing body of South American football, in November 2021, becoming the official partner of the Confederation for 2023–2026.
In addition, Crypto.com became one of the official NFT licensees of the CONMEBOL Libertadores. CONMEBOL and Crypto.com will develop NFTs associated with the intellectual property (IP) of CONMEBOL Libertadores on Crypto.com's NFT platform.
