Over the past 18 months, crypto companies have spent more than $2.4B on sports marketing, namely ads and sponsorships. Though crypto’s push into sports sponsorships has slowed since the onset of the crypto winter, some crypto firms are still doubling down on big-budget deals.

Why should we care?
Crypto’s branded presence in sports may hint at whether crypto’s biggest players are building sustainable business models or not. To Brian Shroder, CEO of Binance.US, crypto firms’ overzealous sports sponsorships demonstrate the maturity and lucidity of a company’s leadership—a lack thereof, that is. Referring to Coinbase’s recent woes, including an 18% staffing cut, Shroder said, “There is a reason there is no Binance Stadium. There’s a reason why Coinbase spent more on a 30-second Super Bowl ad than we did in our entire marketing budget of 2021.” Steven Kalifowitz, CMO at Crypto.com (which has gone through its own round of layoffs), told Bloomberg that he wanted “to be seen at the same level as Rolex” through sponsorships at marquee events like Formula 1 car races. Kalifowitz also said Crypto.com’s sponsorship of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar—with its estimated 5 billion viewers—could be a way for the company to “become ubiquitous.” Whether Crypto.com’s next gamble pays off remains to be seen; on a dogged quest to become the Rolex of the crypto space, the firm may forsake market fundamentals and force itself to conduct even more layoffs.