FTX is looking to claim the naming-rights to the stadium of the popular NBA team the Miami Heat. The move will see the first major sponsorship deal between a sports team and a cryptocurrency exchange.
Popular cryptocurrency platform FTX.com has its eyes set on making its foray into sports, and the United States. The exchange, after massive growth, plans to replace the Miami Heat’s previous naming-rights sponsor, American Airlines. If this happens, the Miami stadium becomes the first NBA venue tied to cryptocurrencies.
The Miami Herald thinks the move is likely. Several sources confirmed the news. Furthermore, someone recently acquired the domain ftxarena.com and created FTX Arena accounts on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
The news surprised very few observers. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez recently announced plans to implement Bitcoin as a payment method. Residents would be able to receive their salaries in Bitcoin as well as pay fees and taxes in the cryptocurrency.
FTX Expansion Continues
The FTX grew phenomenally of late. The company recently purchased popular cryptocurrency tracking platform Blockfolio for an estimated $150 million. The purchase puts the FTX on the map with one of the largest acquisitions of the year. The FTX expects to push retail investor adoption while synergizing portfolio tracking with a trading platform.
FTX continues surging in popularity and now ranks 11th on CoinGecko. It currently handles $720 million in trading volume daily, with over 225 coins.
Sports Driving Crypto Adoption
Sports features greatly in the cryptocurrency industry these days. Recently, Chiliz (CHZ) announced a $50 million expansion into North America following huge success in Europe. Chiliz created several NFTs for popular sports teams such as Barcelona and Juventus. Likewise, sponsoring the naming rights for the Miami Heat Area would be a huge move in pushing cryptocurrency adoption.
The deal carries a sense of irony as well. The FTX cannot operate in or provide trading services to United States citizens. American regulations forbid it. However, the NBA carries a cache world-wide. In this sense, the arena naming could still pay off. The FTX might see it as helping to spread adoption to other basketball-loving countries in Asia and Europe
There is something interesting in an American city’s sports temple replacing American Airlines as a sponsor with FTX, a company that blocks American users due to American regulations… https://t.co/a1pWfeJbpo
— Erik Voorhees (@ErikVoorhees) March 13, 2021
The deal remains unconfirmed, and regulators still need to approve it. However, it seems that the sponsorship is likely to go through. This sponsorship will further spread cryptocurrency adoption by advertising its cryptocurrency trading. Nevertheless, the cryptocurrency ecosystem benefits from the move.
