- The Montreal Canadiens have signed a one year sponsorship deal with Hong Kong based Crypto.com.
- Crypto.com offers a variety of cryptocurrency related services including an exchange and Visa debit cards.
- This is the first cryptocurrency related sponsorship deal for the iconic National Hockey League team.
The Montreal Canadiens have signed a one year sponsorship deal with Hong Kong based Crypto.com. Among other promotional opportunities, the deal will have the Crypto.com logo at center ice of Le Centre Bell starting on Friday night when the Canadiens play the Vancouver Canucks. News of the deal was first reported by Sports Business Journal.
As the Tweet from Sports Business Journal indicates, this is the Habs’ first deal with a cryptocurrency firm. Crypto.com has really stepped up their promotional efforts of late–in early March they announced a sponsorship deal with Aston Martin’s Formula One racing team.
Crypto.com is one of the fastest growing cryptocurrency service companies. They were founded in 2016 and now serve over 10 million customers with a suite of services including the Crypto.com Visa debit card and the Crypto.com DeFi wallet. They’re based in Hong Kong with over 900 employees. Although there have been cryptocurrency companies that have entered into sports sponsorship in the past the recent partnerships have been with exceptionally high profile teams and sports.
In another high profile crypto/sports crossover that is potentially in the works, CoinDesk reported that crypto derivatives firm FTX is in negotiations for the naming rights to the Miami Heat’s home arena. The NBA has done better in the crypto currency space than any other professional sports organization in North America with the NBA Top Shot NFT platform having become a massive hit. Earlier this month, the UFC signed a deal with Latin America/Asia facing crypto based sportsbook Stake.com.
It looks inevitable that cryptocurrency related companies will play a bigger part in the future–and not just in the hugely popular NFT space. Combine the growing mainstream acceptance of crypto with the post COVID-19 imperative for cash free transactions and there are abundant possible integrations within the sports ecosystem.
