Crypto.com, a Singapore-based company that owns a cryptocurrency exchange app, purchased the Los Angeles Laker’s Staples Center naming rights from its owner Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in November 2021. The Staples Center will be renamed ‘Crypto.com’ on Christmas, during the National Basketball Association’s annual Christmas Game, adding to the growing network the company has created with other popular sports such as F1 and the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL. The company had invested around $100 million to be associated with F1 racing. Additionally, Crypto.com made deals with UFC, the Italian Lega Serie A soccer league, Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, and Twitch Rivals, the live-streaming service’s esports category, in the last few months. Crypto.com spent $700 million to own the naming rights of Staples Center for the next twenty years, making this purchase one of the costliest in the history of sports. Kris Marszalek, Chief Executive of Crypto.com, said to the Los Angeles Times, “This is just such a brilliant move from the guys at AEG because the next decade belongs to crypto. And this positions L.A. and this particular venue right at the center of it.” This deal is an important brand awareness as Crypto.com made a deal with one of the top brands of the NBA, thus increasing its presence in the market and also introducing the very concept of cryptocurrency to a massive audience. The stadium has been the home arena of the Laker’s as well as the WNBA’s Sparks. The Laker’s, per Forbes, is one of the most valued brands in all of the sports, with an estimated value of over $5 billion.
Crypto.com has over 10 million users and is a major player in the crypto world. The company essentially offers a platform to crypto holders to store, exchange, and access assets through Visa reward debit cards. Along with this, the company also has cryptocurrency payment software, its own token, and an NFT wing. The company has about 3,000 employees and in the last year witnessed revenue growth of 2000%. According to Coinbase, the company’s CRO token is the 13th largest in market capitalization at $18.2 billion. Ever since the announcement of Crypto.com purchasing the naming rights of Staples Center, the company’s coin value had risen roughly 69% within the week. The chief strategy officer at Coinshares International Limited tweeted that the market capitalization increase for the company meant the deal would eventually pay for itself.
“This partnership is about the future,” AEG president and CEO, Dan Beckerman, said in a statement to CNBC. “AEG and Crypto.com not only share a vision about innovation and the future of sports and entertainment, but we also have a shared commitment to our communities where we work and live. We look forward to partnering with Crypto.com to create meaningful initiatives to bring that vision to life in the years to come.”
The NBA received its cryptocurrency jersey sponsorship in July 2021, after Storm X and the Portland Trail Blazers agreement. This sponsorship would give StormX a brand presence and leverage over the teams’ intellectual property internationally. Along with this, StormX created a team NFT in the following month after the contract. StormX, like other crypto companies, makes money by charging transaction fees from users who shop with brands to earn cryptocurrencies. In a statement given to CNBC, Blazers CEO Chris McGowan labeled StormX “revolutionary,” adding that the deal would educate the Blazers fanbase “around cryptocurrency and earning Crypto Cashback.” Other sports leagues have also adopted cryptocurrency sponsorships because of the possible market gain it could bring to retail investors and clubs seeking to overcome pandemic losses. The Miami Heat also named their home arena, American Airlines Arena, after the crypto platform, FTX, in March 2021 at a deal that is valued at
around $135 million. The Staples Center purchase and other investments made, as Kris Marszalek suggested, were not only for increasing brand awareness and market share, but also to normalize the concept of cryptocurrency in mainstream society. He further added that Crypto.com has “an ambition of becoming a top-20 brand in the next 3 or 5 years, alongside names like Nike or Apple.” The larger sports sector has been making deals with the growing crypto presence. In October 2020, the NBA partnered with Dapper Labs to create Top Shots NFTs with the aim to let fans sell and buy crypto tokens related to NBA highlights. By March 2021, the market boomed to $230 million and is now estimated to surpass $700 million. As more people begin to gain an understanding of the metaverse and cryptocurrency, their involvement in the space has grown exponentially. The ever-expanding scope of the virtual market projects to take over the traditional ways of finance.
About me
Hi, I am Zainab. I am a student of English Literature. I am intrigued by the development of virtual currency and want to explore more in the field. In my free time, I like to read and try new food recipes.
