Judge okays early approval of $2.4M deal with sports stars over Voyager

June 11, 2024 Coin Telegraph

Judge okays early approval of .4M deal with sports stars over Voyager

After months of proceedings, Robert Gronkowski, Victor Oladipo and Landon Cassill may see the light at the end of the tunnel for a lawsuit involving promoting Voyager Digital.

A legal settlement involving three sports stars has received preliminary approval from a Florida judge. The settlement allows them to pay more than $2.4 million in monetary relief over claims they promoted crypto firm Voyager Digital.

In a June 10 filing in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, Judge Roy Altman granted preliminary approval of a class action settlement involving NFL star Robert Gronkowski, NBA player Victor Oladipo and Nascar driver Landon Cassill. Lawyers for the three sports personalities announced in May that they had agreed to collectively pay roughly $2.4 million to settle the case, with Gronkowski alone paying $1.9 million.

The class-action lawsuit, initially filed against former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in 2022, alleged the billionaire misrepresented Voyager’s services, causing inexperienced investors to lose their money when the firm filed for bankruptcy. If given final approval by the court, the proposed settlement would resolve matters for Gronkowski, Oladipo and Cassill but not for Cuban or the Mavericks.

Back on track: Kraken inks F1 crypto sponsorship deal with Williams Racing

March 29, 2023 Coin Telegraph

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Kraken has inked a partnership deal with Williams Racing marking the first major return to F1 for crypto this year.

Formula 1 teams could be warming to crypto advertising again despite a crypto sponsorship exodus in the wake of last year’s high-profile meltdowns.

On March 28, American crypto exchange Kraken announced that it was partnering with the Williams Racing F1 team in a new sponsorship and Web3 deal. The move marks the first major crypto company to ink a new deal in Formula 1 racing this year.

The deal will not only involve Kraken branding emblazoned on the Willams race cars, but branded team merchandise and nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for team fans to collect.

The rear wing of the car will also showcase KrakenNFT customer-owned digital collectibles artwork from leading third-party NFT projects at select races.

Williams Racing commercial director James Bower said, “We’re excited to get the partnership underway to offer our fans cutting-edge crypto and Web3 experiences, while also enabling Kraken to reach new institutional clients and businesses through our network and events.”

Today we’re thrilled to announce Kraken as an official partner of @WilliamsRacing!

Together we’re accelerating the crypto revolution on and off the grid

More info: https://t.co/ASxKLrBlFo pic.twitter.com/5RfIdkZKbZ
— Kraken Exchange (@krakenfx) March 28, 2023

Several Formula 1-racing teams quickly dropped their crypto sponsorship deals when things started to melt in late 2022. In mid-November, the Mercedes F1 team suspended a partnership agreement worth an estimated $27 million with the embattled FTX exchange.

Furthermore, Ferrari abruptly ended a long-term arrangement with the Swiss blockchain organization Velas in January. Alfa Romeo dropped its sponsor, Vauld, following troubles at the crypto lender last year.

In September, Singapore put the brakes on crypto advertising around the track but allowed it to remain on the cars. Other countries including France also placed restrictions on trackside crypto commercials last year forcing some teams to remove them.

However, some sponsorship deals have remained. The Aston Martin team has retained its crypto sponsors Crypto.com and Socios. Binance remains the partner of the Alpine team and OKX and Tezos are still with McLaren Racing, according to reports earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the Red Bull racing team has retained its crypto sponsor Bybit and OpenSea is still with Haas.

Kraken’s deal with Williams Racing could be the beginning of a return to racing and sports for crypto companies in 2023 as markets recover.

Chiliz (CHZ) CEO Outlines Future of Fan Tokens, Says We Haven’t Seen Full Potential Just Yet

March 6, 2023 The Daily Hodl

Crypto ad deals for Super Bowl LVII fell apart after FTX collapse: Report

February 6, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Business

There had reportedly been a few deals for crypto commercials in this year's Super Bowl that fell apart following the collapse of FTX, but at least one project is giving away NFTs.

Fans watching the Kansas City Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 will reportedly not see a plethora of ad spots for cryptocurrency companies as they did in 2022.

According to a Feb. 6 Associated Press report, there had been four potential deals with crypto firms for commercials costings roughly $6 to $7 million in the 2023 Super Bowl, all of which fell apart following the FTX bankruptcy filing in November. Fox Sports’ executive vice president of ad sales Mark Evans reportedly said there would be “zero representation” from major crypto companies on Feb. 12, when roughly 100 million people could be tuned in to the football game.

During Super Bowl LVI in 2022, companies including FTX, eToro, Crypto.com and Coinbase debuted ads. The FTX commercial, which aired roughly nine months prior to the firm filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried being charged with fraud, featured comedian Larry David telling customers: “don’t miss out” on crypto.

David was later included in a class-action lawsuit alleging he promoted the crypto exchange to investors without performing any due diligence. Other celebrities who backed crypto companies including Matt Damon — for Crypto.com — and tennis star Naomi Osaka — for FTX — have likewise faced criticism from users.

Despite the AP report, gaming startup Limit Break announced on Feb. 6 that it will air an interactive advertisement during Super Bowl LVII in which it plans to give away dragon-themed nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. The ad will seemingly not feature a celebrity, but rather include a QR code for viewers to scan.

Many global authorities have targeted crypto ads in the wake of the 2022 market crash and firms including FTX, Voyager Digital, BlockFi, and Celsius Network declaring bankruptcy. The United States Federal Trade Commission has reportedly opened an investigation into several crypto firms for “possible misconduct concerning digital assets." In January, the governor of the Central Bank of Ireland also said he would support legislation banning the advertisement of crypto projects to young people.

Report: Fanatics to Sell 60% of Candy Digital Stake Amid Struggling NFT Market

January 5, 2023 Bitcoin.com

Fanatic sells 60% stake in Candy Digital amid ‘imploding NFT market’

January 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Candy Digital

The sports merchandise giant has got cold feet in the shrinking NFT market.

Sports merchandise firm Fanatics is divesting its stake in nonfungible token (NFT) company Candy Digital as confidence in the asset class wanes.

On Jan. 4, it was reported that Michael Rubin’s sports company Fanatics was offloading its majority 60% stake in the NFT startup.

Fanatics was started in 2011 and has become a known name in sports merchandising and e-commerce, valued at $31 billion.

*MLB ICON Leadoff NFT Collectibles, launched by Candy Digital in Apr. 2022 Source: MLB*

However, the crypto bear market has hit the NFT sector hard in 2022, and Rubin’s firm is seemingly now looking to turn away from “standalone” NFT businesses.

The investor group led by Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital will be purchasing the stake in Candy Digital, according to CNBC. In an email shared with the outlet, Rubin wrote:

“Over the past year, it has become clear that NFTs are unlikely to be sustainable or profitable as a standalone business.”

He stated that divesting ownership in Candy Digital “allowed us to ensure investors were able to recoup most of their investment via cash or additional shares in Fanatics.”

This was a favorable outcome for investors “especially in an imploding NFT market that has seen precipitous drops in both transaction volumes and prices for standalone NFTs,” he added. NFTs alone would not create much value, according to Rubin, who said:

“We believe digital products will have more value and utility when connected to physical collectibles to create the best experience for collectors.”

Fanatics acquired Topps trading cards for roughly $500 million in Jan. 2022. Furthermore, it acquired the rights to produce Major League Baseball trading cards and then NFTs following the launch of Candy Digital last year.

Fanatics raised $700 million in fresh capital in Dec. 2022. The funding will be used on potential merger and acquisition opportunities across its collectibles, sports betting, and gaming businesses, according to CNBC.

Candy Digital secured $100 million in funding in Oct. 2021 with a valuation of $1.5 billion at the time.

However, the NFT markets have shrunk considerably during the 2022 crypto winter. According to the Nonfungible.com market tracker, daily sales volumes have slumped from over 100,000 sales in January 2022 to around 15,000 today.

Cointelegraph reached out for comment from Fanatics and Candy Digital but had not received a reply at the time of publication.

Crypto.com downsizes some sports partnership deals amid market downturn: Report

October 7, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Business

The crypto exchange reportedly cut the scope of sponsorship agreements inked with sports organizations including the Angel City Football Club, the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Twitch Rivals.

Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has reportedly reduced the scale of many of its sponsorship deals with sports organizations amid staff cuts and the market downturn.

According to an Oct. 6 report, Ad Age tech reporter Asa Hiken said Crypto.com cut the scope of sponsorship agreements inked with major sports organizations including Los Angeles' Angel City Football Club, the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and esports tournament host Twitch Rivals — in some cases reportedly attempting to pull out of the deals entirely. Hiken cited unnamed former and current Crypto.com employees, who said the crypto exchange had begun considering such actions following the market downturn in May.

“The other shoe has dropped for a crypto firm that marketed really big when number was up,” said Hiken. “Now that number is down, the firm is grappling with its own costly decisions.”

EXCLUSIVE: https://t.co/2hIVsn8aQd laid off WAY more people than was previously reported, and has quietly downsized many of the sponsorship deals it made over the last year

Story for @adage, plus a sneak peek belowhttps://t.co/bdEf0ByUtR
— Asa Hiken (@asabhiken) October 6, 2022

Lawyers for Angel City reportedly claimed the crypto exchange withheld payments and eventually backed out of the deal, first announced in December 2021. In addition, the firm reportedly decided on plans to dissolve its partnership with Twitch Rivals, with both companies agreeing to finish the deal by the end of 2022. A former Crypto.com employee alleged the firm may have cut the number of hospitality packages it planned to issue as part of the FIFA deal by half.

Crypto.com has made a number of highprofile marketing deals in the last 12 months, from recruiting actor Matt Damon to appear in its "Fortune Favors the Brave" ad campaign to signing a $700-million agreement to rename the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Crypto.com Arena. The crypto exchange has reportedly continued to move forward with the multimillion-dollar renovation.

Cointelegraph reported in September that Crypto.com had dropped out of a half-billion-dollar sponsorship deal with the Union of European Football Associations Champions League. The report implied that other major partnerships with the exchange, including its five-year deal with the Australia Football League and Formula 1, might also be affected.

Although Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek had announced the exchange planned to downsize 5% of its employees in June, the report suggested the percentage of staff cuts may have been much higher, with roughly 30% to 40% leaving the firm from June to August — many as the result of layoffs. Since July, financial regulatory authorities in Italy, Cyprus, France and the United Kingdom have given Crypto.com the green light to offer its services to residents.

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