Crypto Corner: The Sports Slice

It was a stacked week of sports action in the crypto landscape: from new partnership deals, to controversial NFT endeavors, and new crypto exchange ambassadors – the sports space was active this past week.

Every Sunday, we explore the past week of sports engagement in crypto and blockchain technology with a quick recap in The Sports Slice. Let’s take a look at the past seven days of action as we head into the final week of March.

The Sports Slice

Crypto.com Continues It’s Run, Adds FIFA World Cup To The Resume

Crypto.com has not held back when it comes to sports sponsorships. Late last year, the cryptocurrency exchange made a huge headline move in securing the naming rights deal to the then Staples Center in Los Angeles, home to some of the most notable teams in major league athletics. The exchange has also partnered with the UFC as it’s sports portfolio stays diverse.

The exchange hasn’t stopped engaging in sport since then, and is now making news again – this time securing a deal as an official sponsor for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The World Cup has an audience in the billions each year, offering a massive potential for reach towards new consumers across the globe, and likely coming at a massive (but at the time being, undisclosed) price tag.

NFL Eases Crypto Restrictions

Throughout nearly a year now of publishing The Sports Slice each week, we’ve covered quite a bit of content around the back and forth relationship between the NFL and crypto. The league clearly sees the undeniable revenue potential around blockchain and crypto-related firms, but as it often does, the NFL is not interested in being a first (or even second) mover in the area; they feel much more comfortable playing their cards conservatively when it comes to new sponsorship categories.

The potential revenue-driving opportunities could be turning that corner for the NFL, though. New reports this week have emerged that the NFL will now allow teams to pursue their own sponsorship deals in the space, but will still not allow direct promotion of cryptocurrencies. This includes fan tokens as well. Additionally, restrictions around stadium signage and deal-length (currently capped at three-year max deals) are in play. However, the move signals a clear shift towards the NFL’s conduciveness to engage in crypto and blockchain deals. Slowly but surely.

FTX Adds To Growing Ambassador List, Brings In Naomi Osaka

Naomi Osaka is a young tennis star that is well on her way to being one of the best in the history of the sport. Osaka has been an advocate of athletes speaking out on mental health issues, and she also has been a curious explorer of blockchain technology. Osaka has previously released NFTs through a partnership with Autograph.io, which generated over half a million dollars in sales; Osaka is also an Autograph board member.

This week, cryptocurrency exchange FTX, frequently mentioned in the Sports Slice, signed it’s latest ambassadorship with Osaka – who joins the likes of NBA star Steph Curry and NFL legend Tom Brady. Female representation in crypto is an area that needs dedicated growth, and ideally this deal with Osaka can help contribute towards that.

Related Reading | NFTs In A Nutshell: A Weekly Review

NFT critics are setting sights on Layer-2 solutions like Polygon, associating them with the energy consumption of Ethereum since they are reliant on the Ethereum blockchain. | Source: MATIC-USD on TradingView.com

Liverpool Generates Mixed Reviews From It’s NFT Endeavor

Liverpool FC is in the midst of a rock and a hard place after announcing a new NFT release of over 170,000 NFTs – expected to raise nearly $10M for the club. Liverpool has said they will sell the NFTs over a three day period, will be released on the Polygon blockchain, and burn any unsold NFTs from the collection.

So far, this seems all relatively straightforward when it comes to NFT releases – so where does the controversy come in? Many critics have started claiming that since Polygon is dependent on Ethereum (as it is a scaling solution), it’s reliance adds to the detrimental energy consumption that Ethereum is often criticized for. In short, critics of the NFT release are claiming that usage of Polygon is essentially equivalent to the usage of Ethereum – and that the energy impacts of this should be considered.

Related Reading | Rio De Janeiro To Enable Crypto Tax Payments Starting Next Year

Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com

The writer of this content is not associated or affiliated with any of the parties mentioned in this article. This is not financial advice.