Bitcoiner raises the orange flag on Mount Everest

May 23, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Animoca eyes SportFi ecosystem, becomes Chiliz Chain validator

November 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Animoca Brands will become a validator for the Chiliz Chain as the venture capital firm looks to capitalize on the SportFi ecosystem.

Venture capital firm Animoca Brands will put its weight behind fan token blockchain Chiliz Chain as it joins the network as a validator within its proof-of-stake authority protocol.

Chiliz Chain is the backbone of Socios.com, the platform that operates a plethora of fan tokens for some of the biggest global football and sports teams. Europe’s most loved football clubs and a number of household sports brands have tapped into the solution to power Web3 fan tokens and other blockchain-based offerings.

Animoca Brands co-founder Yat Siu says the partnership presents an opportunity for his firm to combine its expertise in nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and gaming with Chiliz’s focus on sports and entertainment-focused blockchain solutions.

“We have already seen the rise of DeFi and GameFi, and we believe that SportFi represents the next major growth area that will redefine fan engagement and create new financial dynamics in the sports industry.”

Chiliz CEO Alexandre Dreyfus adds that Animoca’s addition as a network validator marks a pivotal point in the firm’s history as it looks to solidify its position as a major blockchain solution primarily focused on catalyzing Web3 functionality and the wider sports industry.

Animoca Brands becomes the latest validator of the Chiliz Chain, joining the likes of Ankr, Paribu, Meria, Luganoes and InfStones as validators. Similar to proof-of-stake blockchain protocols like Ethereum, validators authorize and enable the creation of fan tokens, NFTs and decentralized applications, as well as verifying transactions and executing smart contracts.

Animoca has a wide-ranging spread of investments across the Web3 space and has also honed its focus on the sports sector. Its Web3 sports products include One Fight Arena, AFL Mint and REVV Motorsport. The latter includes the likes of MotoGP Ignition, MotoGP Guru, Formula E: High Voltage, REVV Racing and Torque Drift.

Animoca grabbed headlines in April 2022 by acquiring French racing game developer Eden Games for $15.3 million. The deal aimed to acquire racing game development talent to enhance the REVV Motorsport ecosystem and introduce blockchain-based games focused on the genre.

Chiliz launched its own layer-1 Ethereum Virtual Machine-compatible blockchain ecosystem to support its growth in Feb. 2023. The launch marked the transition away from its Ethereum-based ERC-20 token ecosystem to its own blockchain solution.

The blockchain initially used a system of 11 active validators with proof-of-stake authority consensus, which is touted to provide faster block times, lower fees and energy usage.

Magazine: Socios boss’ goal? To knock crypto out of the park

Bulgaria’s oldest football club adopts Bitcoin and Lightning, joins Nostr

October 31, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bulgaria

Football meets finance: Bitcoin payments integration arrives at top-flight Bulgarian club, Botev Plovdiv FC.

Bitcoin (BTC) has netted another adoption goal. Botev Plovdiv FC, Bulgaria’s oldest football club, has adopted Bitcoin and Lightning Network payments, as well as joining decentralized protocol, Nostr .

*Plovdiv’s stadium accommodates 18,000 people. Source: Manolov*

Effective immediately, fans can utilize Bitcoin for peer-to-peer payments at Botev Plovdiv FC’s fan shops and stands during matches in the top-flight Bulgarian Parva Liga. The club also has plans in the pipeline to extend Bitcoin payments for ticketing and its online store.

Anton Zingarevich, the president of the 111-year-old football club, expressed enthusiasm for the move, highlighting the potential of the Lightning Network. He stated in a press release:

“We foresee Bitcoin payments becoming as ubiquitous as the internet in our daily lives. This integration not only aligns with our vision but also offers our fans and stakeholders unparalleled convenience.“

The initiative became a reality through a partnership with BTCPay Server, a Bitcoin payment processor known for its open-source architecture, secure infrastructure and low merchant fees. The payment hardware was handled by CryptoDesk.bg, in collaboration with Bitcoinize.com, who provided the point-of-sale devices.

*The Bitcoin NFC enabled point-of-sale device in the changing room. Source: Manolov*

Nicolas Dorier, founder of BTCPay Server, emphasized the importance of local Bitcoin adoption, stating it is committed to supporting transformative endeavors such as the work at Plovdiv.

George Manolov, Bitcoin director at Botev Plovdiv FC, explained that “Bitcoin offers a universe of technological, social and financial opportunities.”

“At Botev, we’re thrilled to lead these innovations into sports, harnessing their transformative energy to elevate our club to unprecedented heights. As Bulgaria’s oldest football club, anticipate pioneering products and initiatives from us.“

In addition to embracing Bitcoin, Botev Plovdiv FC has revamped its online presence. The club’s official website has been updated, English social media channels have been brought up to speed, and the club has created an account on Nostr — a decentralized protocol that offers censorship-resistant social media.

The move to embrace Bitcoin and decentralized technologies is similar to that of Real Bedford, a United Kingdom-based football club, which was the world’s first football club to adopt Bitcoin. Peter McCormack, chairman of Real Bedford, shared his thoughts on the news from Bulgaria:

“It is so cool to see more football clubs adopt the Bitcoin cheat code. Not only will it bring more success to their club, but it will also widen the net for Bitcoin awareness.”

McCormack has integrated Bitcoin at Real Bedford since 2021, and he also spoke with Plovdiv before its move to adopt Bitcoin. According to McCormack, the unique characteristics of Bitcoin act as a cheat code for life. He is hosting a conference called “Cheat Code” in Bedford in Spring 2024.

McCormack told Cointelegraph, “There is a plague of financial irresponsibility in football, so clubs adopting a low-time preference Bitcoin standard as part of their strategy are building their club with solid foundations.”

“I expect we will continue to see not just other football clubs but all types of sports teams adopt the cheat code.“

Meanwhile, football fans attending Plovdiv’s home game against second in the league Lokomotiv Plovdiv will be able to pay using Bitcoin and the Lightning Network. The team made the announcement on Bitcoin white paper day to mark the day and highlight its support for Bitcoin.

Magazine: Peter McCormack’s Real Bedford Football Club puts Bitcoin on the map

Fantasy football game on Telegram: Fanton joins Cointelegraph Accelerator

October 27, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Blockchain

Fanton brings blockchain-based fantasy football to Telegram thanks to the IM service’s recent integration with the TON blockchain.

What’s a better way than combining the world’s most popular sports with Web2’s most socialized aspects to introduce new users to Web3 through gaming? Association football, or soccer, boasts the largest fan base among sports enthusiasts, with over 3.5 billion estimated people rooting for their favorite teams. Built mainly for football fans, the fantasy sports industry, a vast network of virtual sports leagues where users can create their own teams, has also grown to become a $25 billion global market.

Mixing fantasy football with blockchain features like nonfungible token (NFT) cards could create an ideal entry point to Web3 for the masses. However, current platforms present complex mechanics for newcomers, and most of them lack in-platform user interaction —a big loss considering the social aspect of fantasy football.

Soccer superstars as collectible cards

Fanton has built a fantasy football game that is integrated into Telegram to benefit from the instant messenger service’s 800 million-strong user base. It features collectible cards of top football players that earn points according to their real-life performances. These cards are issued on the blockchain as NFTs and can be easily traded among players.

The game benefits from Telegram’s recent integration with The Open Network (TON) blockchain, which enables the use of a noncustodial wallet directly from the Telegram app. Users can create a virtual football team with their cards of players, and earn points for their players’ actions in the real world.

The teams are made of five players: a goalkeeper, a defender, a midfielder, a forward and a substitute player. These players earn points based on their performances in their real-life football matches. Points are awarded for various actions, such as goals, assists and saves of goal chances by the goalkeeper. The combined score of the points equals the team score.

Tournaments are organized based on match days of real football leagues, including the English Premier League, Spanish LaLiga, German Bundesliga, Italian Serie A and the French Ligue 1. Players can partake in a special championship consisting of the most important matches from the five European leagues, the Brazilian Championship and the UEFA Champions League, the world's most prestigious championship.

Users can join these tournaments by paying a participation fee, of which 85% is added to the prize pool while 15% goes to Fanton. Teams that score more points than others are rewarded with TON coins and collectible cards.

Fanton features soccer superstars as NFT cards. Source: Fanton

Fanton features soccer superstars as NFT cards. Source: Fanton

Cards are divided into rarity classes based on their scarcity, giving them value and uniqueness. Non-NFT cards are classified as common, while NFT cards can have rare, epic and legendary rarities. The game is free to play and provides common cards without charge for everyone who wants to participate. The rarer NFT cards should be purchased to take part in special NFT tournaments with higher prizes.

Fanton became a part of the Cointelegraph Accelerator program with its straightforward product that is already showing good traction in user onboarding and revenue. The Cointelegraph Accelerator team was inspired by the innovative game-in-a-messenger format, easy user onboarding and the perspective of crypto adoption via messengers. The platform has over 350,000 users and surpassed $40,000 in monthly revenue. With a seasoned team of 15 based in Spain and Indonesia, the game managed to raise $300,000 in a pre-seed round in February.

Today, October 27, 2023, Fanton launched its product on Product Hunt, a platform where users can discover and upvote new products. Fanton encourages its supporters to visit Product Hunt on Friday and upvote the product.

Bitcoin adoption in Mexico boosted by Lightning partnership with retail giant

June 21, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin Payments

“Imagine if Best Buy, Bank of America, Fox News and an NFL team were all owned by the same individual. All of them will have lightning capabilities in the future,” Jose Lemus, CEO of Ibex Mercado, told Cointelegraph.

The world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) conference, Bitcoin 2023, in Miami, Florida, passed without major fanfare this year. Past conferences announced nation-state adoption, massive crypto integrations in the United States, and islands and territories worldwide embracing Bitcoin.

Nonetheless, at Bitcoin 2023, one partnership with a potentially significant impact on the world’s 15th-largest economy flew under the radar.

We're thrilled to announce our partnership with Grupo Salinas. Looking forward to seeing the positive impact this collaboration will have.⚡️ #Bitcoin #bitcoiconference2023 https://t.co/rkAjWnmKsK pic.twitter.com/yWIWc6751B
— IBEX ⚡️ (@PoweredbyIBEX) May 18, 2023

José Lemus, the CEO of Ibex Mercado, closed out the Bitcoin 2023 Industry Day. He announced a partnership with Grupo Salinas, one of Mexico’s largest corporate conglomerates. In brief, the collaboration would allow millions of Mexicans to pay their internet bills at popular telecoms company Total Play using the Bitcoin Lightning Network.

Crucially, the Salinas Group owns tens of businesses across Mexico. Its billionaire founder, Ricardo Salinas Pliego, is the third-richest person in the country and a well-known Bitcoin maximalist.

Not only does the Bitcoin Lightning payments integration already deliver Bitcoin adoption to millions of Mexicans, but as Lemus explained to Cointelegraph, Total Play is one small retailer that’s part of the vast Salinas conglomerate:

“Imagine if Best Buy, Bank of America, Fox News and an NFL team were all owned by the same individual. All of them will have Lightning capabilities in the future.”

Lemus explained it’s just the “tip of the iceberg of what will go on in Mexico,” as more Bitcoin and Lightning integrations, and on and off-ramps attract more Bitcoin business. Speaking via video link, Lemus explained that fiat and Bitcoin can interact more freely in Mexico:

“Let’s say you have a wallet and you want to make Mexican pesos available in Mexico, or you have an exchange and you want to make the balances for your customers in Mexico. You can do that through CoinPro or through Grupo Salinas.”

The partnership is the beginning of Lightning functionality across Grupo Salinas. There will be a Lightning app “for employees, a super app for soccer teams to do something similar to what we have with the Perth Heat where we drive fan engagement with innovative ways.”

The Australian baseball team, Perth Heat, adopted a Bitcoin standard in 2021, with players earning salaries in Bitcoin and “Sats4Stats”, where players receive Bitcoin for hitting home runs. Plus, fan engagement activities use the Lightning Network. For example, during baseball games, “When a player steals a base, a QR flashes on screen and the first people that scan it get satoshis,” Lemus explained.

*Players can send satoshis to players directly during Perth Heat baseball games. Source: PerthHeat.com.au*

In the first year of operation, the Perth Heat players earned an extra 1% through Bitcoin, Lemus said on stage at Bitcoin 2023. “It’s still early” for such a technology, but an extra 1% is already encouraging.

Grupo Salinas owns the Mexican football clubs, Mazatlán and Club Puebla. Fans could soon get their hands on free money — in the form of Bitcoin or satoshis — for simply scanning the QR code on the stadium screen when a player scores, just like with Perth Heat.

*A snapshot of some of the Grupo Salinas brands spanning retail, banking, sports and advertising. Source: GrupoSalinas.com*

Ibex Mercado understands the massive opportunity for financial inclusion offered by the Lightning Network. Lemus founded Ibex in neighboring Guatemala, and the company delivered the Lightning Network integration for El Salvador’s Chivo Wallet — which effectively banked millions of Salvadorans — two years prior.

Lemus explained that more Bitcoin adoption could improve the lives of unbanked and underserved populations. Moreover, financial inclusion goes beyond banking the unbanked:

“It’s the ability to raise funds for your company. It’s the ability to open yourself to a broader market. And that is what, for me, true financial inclusion is.”

Finally, Lemus highlighted the potential of Mexico as a Bitcoin destination: “I think that Mexico is going to be the place where this is going to take off.“ More broadly, 2022 was a promising year for Bitcoin and crypto adoption in the country, from crypto remittance companies establishing in Mexico to crypto exchange expansion.

Does this mean that crypto enthusiasts may soon be able to live on Bitcoin like they can in El Salvador? Lemus replied:

“Let’s say you conduct most of your life in Bitcoin, I think 18 months is a reasonable target where you can do most of your life. But obviously, things like taxes and maybe rent will not run on Bitcoin yet.”

Similarly, the partnership with Grupo Salinas took 18 months of work and preparation, Lemus said. More partnerships and projects are on the horizon in Mexico, although it’s too early to share details, Lemus concluded.

Magazine: Peter McCormack’s Real Bedford Football Club puts Bitcoin on the map

How Peter McCormack is turning an unknown town into a Bitcoin hub

June 13, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin pitch invasion! A new Cointelegraph video examines a local soccer club’s impact on its town and national Bitcoin adoption.

Can a football team backed by Bitcoin (BTC) really raise up a town? In the latest Cointelegraph documentary, reporter Joe Hall investigates the impact of a Bitcoin football club, Real Bedford, on the small commuter town of Bedford in the United Kingdom.

Peter McCormack, the renowned host of the What Bitcoin Did podcast, bought Real Bedford Football Club in 2021 during the peak of the Bitcoin bull run.

While many questioned his decision, McCormack saw an opportunity to revive a football club and promote Bitcoin adoption in his hometown. Two years later, Real Bedford F.C. has gained promotion, secured significant sponsorships, and attracted a legion of local and international fans.

As the video demonstrates, the club’s bright orange jerseys proudly display the Bitcoin logo, symbolizing its close association with the world’s largest digital currency. Before each game, Bitcoin meetups are organized and influential figures from the Bitcoin world are invited to attend.

Naturally, the manager’s unconventional approach has sparked curiosity and criticism, with some locals skeptical of the Bitcoin branding and its implications. Hall asks locals in street interviews and pitchside conversations how much influence the club has had on the town. Some are familiar with the club’s Bitcoin takeover; others had never heard of McCormack, with the overarching sentiment being negative.

McCormack, however, aims to dispel misunderstandings and facilitate greater Bitcoin adoption through the football club. Rather than forcing the currency on the town's residents, he believes in using the team as a Trojan horse to introduce them to Bitcoin gradually. The Real Bedford website even features a statement titled "Why you shouldn't buy Bitcoin," emphasizing the importance of education and responsible investment.

The Trojan football ‍☠️ pic.twitter.com/fh77fufvcx
— Peter McCormack‍☠️ (@PeterMcCormack) April 11, 2023

While Real Bedford remains a Bitcoin-only club, McCormack acknowledges the allure of other cryptocurrencies and crypto-related projects:

“If I did a shitcoin, I could raise a billion and I would get this club in the Premier League in nine years because you have the money to do it. I could build a £200 million stadium if I did a shit coin. It's really tempting.”

Nonetheless, McCormack is committed to Bitcoin's principles. He is convinced that through hard work, and the support of the Bitcoin community, Real Bedford could reach the Premier League in the 2030s.

Featuring interviews with Jeff Booth, Ben Arc, fans, and locals, The Real Bedford documentary will shed light on the Real Bedford story, showcasing the transformative power of Bitcoin in sports and local communities.

While the United Kingdom warms up to Central Bank Digital Currencies–despite the Bitcoin community’s best wishes–Bitcoin could lose a foothold in the country. In such an environment, Real Bedford is increasingly a beacon for Bitcoin adoption in the United Kingdom.

Overall, and to pinch Barcelona’s motto, Real Bedford is “mes que un club”, or “more than a club.” It’s a symbol of resilience, rebellion, and a real-world example of Bitcoin’s ability to raise up areas.

Magazine: Bitcoin is on a collision course with ‘Net Zero’ promises

Shaquille O’Neal claims process servers ‘tossed’ FTX legal papers at his moving car

May 9, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The NBA star appeared in a June 2022 commercial saying he was “all in” on FTX, one of many endorsements that led to a class-action lawsuit following the exchange's collapse.

Lawyers for NBA star Shaquille O’Neal, who previously endorsed the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX, have claimed two process servers inadequately delivered legal documents after previously failed attempts.

In a May 8 filing for United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida, Shaq’s legal team said following “a failed motion to serve” the NBA star, two process servers “tossed” papers for a legal complaint in front of his moving car. According to the filing, Shaq did not stop to pick up the papers, but left them in the road.

“This purported ‘service’ is inadequate under Rule 4 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Georgia law,” said the filing. “It should be quashed, and the claims against Mr. O’Neal dismissed.”

Shaq was one of many high-profile figures who endorsed FTX before its bankruptcy filing in November 2022. The NBA star appeared in a commercial saying he was “all in” for the crypto exchange. Following the exchange's collapse and facing potential legal action, O’Neal reportedly said he was “just a paid spokesperson” for the firm.

We couldn't keep it secret any longer! We're partnering with...the one...the only...@SHAQ! (a.k.a. Shaqtoshi) pic.twitter.com/V37UQ5wsXI
— FTX (@FTX_Official) June 1, 2022

In November, the Moskowitz law firm filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of Edwin Garrison and other FTX investors against celebrities and sports figures for promoting the exchange. A similar lawsuit filed by the same firm in March targeted crypto influencers, including YouTuber 'BitBoy Crypto' Ben Armstrong, who allegedly promoted FTX’s “crypto fraud without disclosing compensation.”

Moskowitz reported on April 16 that O'Neal had been served with the legal complaint outside his house following several unsuccessful attempts. The law firm did not specifically mention delivering the documents to the NBA star in his car or otherwise throwing them.

“As Mr. O’Neal — who never exited his car — drove past the strangers lurking outside his home, one of the process servers ‘tossed the legal documents at the front of’ his car,” said the May 8 filing. “When the documents hit the car, which was moving ‘at a high rate of speed,’ the documents ‘f[e]ll onto the road,’ and the process servers ‘l[e]ft the legal documents on the road where they landed’—that is, on the public road.”

According to the filing, this alleged method of serving legal documents was “insufficient under Georgia law” and inadequate:

“Throwing papers at a moving car and leaving them unattended on a public highway ‘is not good tender as it provides no way of knowing whether the papers landed in physical proximity to’ Mr. O’Neal.”

Moskowitz has received authorization from the court to serve other individuals connected to the lawsuit, including by tweet in the case of crypto YouTuber Tom Nash.

Magazine: Can you trust crypto exchanges after the collapse of FTX?

Chiliz announces $50M incubator and accelerator program for early-stage blockchain projects

March 1, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Chiliz announces M incubator and accelerator program for early-stage blockchain projects

Coin Telegraph

The company said the funds will be invested into early-stage blockchain projects that leverage the Chiliz blockchain for sports and entertainment and the Socios.com partner network.

Chiliz, a global company that deals with blockchain for sports and entertainment, has launched its incubator and accelerator program, Chiliz Labs, with the support of Jump Crypto. The $50 million program intends to invest in early-stage blockchain projects that leverage the Chiliz blockchain for sports and entertainment and the Socios.com partner network.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our $50M USD incubator and accelerator programme Chiliz Labs!

Backed by @jump_ Chiliz Labs will foster viable and innovative early-stage blockchain projects looking to leverage the new Chiliz blockchain.

⚡️ $CHZ
— Chiliz ($CHZ) - Powering Socios.com ⚡ (@Chiliz) March 1, 2023

According to the announcement, Chiliz aims to build the largest community of fans, brands, and developers in the sports and entertainment industry to create a dedicated sports Web3 ecosystem. These projects will leverage the new Chiliz blockchain for sports and entertainment, which had its genesis block validated on February 8th. The incubator and accelerator program promises to provide funding and strategic guidance to assist these projects in achieving their goals.

Chiliz has announced LiveLike and FanFest as the first companies to build on the new chain, with eight to ten more enterprise-level projects to come. These projects will include NFT ticketing pilots, athlete-focused Fan Tokens, and Web3 infrastructure partners building for sports and entertainment. Jump Crypto's President, Kanav Kariya, praised Chiliz for solving the problem of how to scale brands and maximize fan engagement sustainably and affordably.

Chiliz CEO, Alexandre Dreyfus, highlighted Chiliz Labs' importance in building an ecosystem of fan experiences and transactions with Fan Tokens providing a "digital key" that can work across any product or experience built on their infrastructure. Chiliz is the creator of Fan Tokens and the Socios.com fan engagement and rewards app, with more than 170 partners and over 1.8 million wallets.

As blockchain technology continues to revolutionize industries around the world, it continues to find interesting use case in the world of sports with the emergence of Web3 platforms, offering new ways to engage fans and drive value for sports brands.

As previously covered by Cointelegraph, Web3 projects aim to create engagement between fans and sports leagues. In Deloitte’s “2022 Sports Industry Outlook” report, it predicted an acceleration in the blending of real and digital worlds, along with growing markets for nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and immersive technologies.

According to the report, these advancements could potentially result in a boost in fan involvement, which has been the foundation for securing sponsor revenue, ticket and merchandise sales, as well as the general appeal of a sports league for a long time.

Crypto ads and sponsors banned from women’s cricket league in India

February 14, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Following men's cricket, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) prohibits the women's teams from having commercial associations and other sponsorships with crypto businesses.

Indian authorities once again demonstrated their tough stance on cryptocurrencies with a preemptive ban on crypto advertising and sponsorships in the local women’s cricket league.

As reported by Planet Sport on Feb. 14, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) sent a 68-page advisory to the Women's Premier League teams, specifying the activities which couldn’t be advertised. In the document, cryptocurrencies were mentioned among the gambling and tobacco industries:

“No franchisee shall undertake a partnership or any kind of association with an entity that is in any way connected/related to an entity that is involved/operates, directly or indirectly, in the cryptocurrency sector."

The ban follows a previous prohibition for the men’s cricket Premier League, introduced back in 2022. Before the prohibition, Indian Premier League had collaborated at least with two local crypto exchanges — CoinSwitch Kuber and CoinDCX. Coincidentally, in March 2022, the crypto businesses decided not to advertise in the Premier League out of responsibility concerns.

Home to an estimated 115 million cryptocurrency investors, in 2022, India introduced two laws demanding crippling taxes on crypto-related unrealized gains and transactions and requiring its citizens to pay a 30% tax on unrealized crypto gains.

Some of the investors expected a change this year to ease the pressure on the crypto sector, but the national budget for 2023 didn’t deliver them. The country’s finance minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, believes in a global regulatory framework on crypto, which is why we probably won’t see any dramatic shifts in the Indian regime, initiated in an autonomous manner.

Crypto advertising became a hot topic for global regulators and enforcement agencies amid the series of failures and bankruptcies of large platforms. In the United Kingdom, newly proposed advertising rules could potentially see executives of crypto firms face up to two years of prison for failing to meet certain requirements around promotion.

Ferrari cuts ties with crypto sponsor ahead of 2023 Formula One season

January 8, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The Ferrari-Velas partnership from 2021 — set at $30 million a year — was aimed at increasing fan engagement through nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and other shared initiatives.

Scuderia Ferrari, the racing division of luxury carmaker Ferrari, joined the growing list of Formula One racing teams to end partnerships with their cryptocurrency sponsors. Ferrari exited its multi-year partnership deals with Velas Blockchain and chip manufacturing giant Snapdragon, resulting in a cumulative $55 million loss for the Italian team ahead of the 2023 season.

The Ferrari-Velas partnership from 2021 — set at $30 million a year — was aimed at increasing fan engagement through nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and other shared initiatives. However, the team was noncompliant with the clauses that permit Velas to create NFT images, according to RacingNews365.

On November 2022, Mercedes, too, bore a loss of $15 million after suspending its partnership with FTX as the crypto exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Red Bull Racing’s partnership with Tezos Foundation suffered a similar fate as the blockchain company reportedly decided not to renew its agreement citing strategy misalignment.

Toto Wolff, the team principal and CEO of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, warned that other teams could come across a similar situation. However, the relationship between F1 and the crypto ecosystem spans beyond partnerships. On October 2022, Formula One filed 'F1' trademarks as it revealed plans to set up an online marketplace for cryptocurrency, meta tokens, digital collectibles, crypto-collectibles and NFTs.

Amid a bear market, Web3 projects have taken up the lead to strengthen engagement between fans and sports leagues.

Deloitte’s “2022 Sports Industry Outlook” report predicted an acceleration in the blending of real and digital worlds, along with growing markets for NFTs and immersive technologies. As Cointelegraph reported, the lack of easy-to-use platforms stands as the biggest challenge for mainstream adoption.

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Soccer superstars as collectible cards

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