The chief executive of fan-focused crypto project Chiliz (CHZ) is detailing the future of the nascent digital asset subsector and says it has yet to live up to its full potential. In a new interview on Real Vision Crypto with macro guru Raoul Pal, Chiliz CEO Alexandre Dreyfus explains how fan tokens can be utilized […]
The post Chiliz (CHZ) CEO Outlines Future of Fan Tokens, Says We Haven’t Seen Full Potential Just Yet appeared first on The Daily Hodl.
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.
Related: Tom Brady and other celebrities named in class-action lawsuit against FTX
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.
Fanatics, the retailer specializing in licensed sports merchandise, is divesting 60% of its stake in the non-fungible token (NFT) company Candy Digital, according to reports. The company is selling its Candy Digital stake to an investor group associated with billionaire Mike Novogratz and his firm, Galaxy Digital. Report Says Sports Retail Giant Fanatics to Sell […]
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.
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.
Related: What remains in the NFT market now that the dust has settled?
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.
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
— Asa Hiken (@asabhiken) October 6, 2022
Story for @adage, plus a sneak peek belowhttps://t.co/bdEf0ByUtR
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.
Related: Crypto.com to roll out Google Pay integration as Big Tech continues to embrace crypto
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.
Laliga, the Spanish soccer first division organization, has established a strategic partnership with Stadioplus and Vegas City Limited, two metaverse-related companies, to digitize part of its activities to offer new experiences in Decentraland, an Ethereum-based metaverse. With this move, Laliga aims to bring new fans from all over the world to new experiences in virtual […]
Do you have a talent for picking winners? Do you follow athletes’ careers and know who is gonna be successful? So why not benefit from that?! Upcoming NFT Platform OWNIC empowers sports fans to earn from the real world performance of the stars they pick using dynamic NFTs. It introduces a number of revolutionary concepts […]
On July 14, 2022, the bitcoin company NYDIG, a subsidiary of Stone Ridge, announced that the firm inked a multi-year deal with the Major League Baseball (MLB) team the New York Yankees. According to the partnership announcement, NYDIG will be the professional baseball team’s “official bitcoin payroll platform.” NYDIG Inks a Multi-Year Partnership Deal With […]
On Tuesday, the international governing body of association football, FIFA, announced the exchange Crypto.com will be an official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament. According to the announcement, the digital currency trading platform will “activate its official sponsorship” during the tournament “in many ways.” FIFA Chooses Digital Asset Exchange Crypto.com as an […]
Naomi Osaka joined figures including seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and NBA star Stephen Curry in promoting the crypto exchange.
Naomi Osaka, once one of the highest-ranked tennis players in the world, has become the latest figure in sports and entertainment to endorse crypto exchange FTX.
In a Monday announcement, FTX said Osaka will be taking an equity stake in the exchange as well as receiving an undisclosed amount of cryptocurrency as compensation for her endorsement. According to the crypto exchange, the tennis star will be part of a “long-term partnership” aimed at bringing women into the space.
"We have seen the statistics about how few women are part of crypto by comparison, which kind of mirrors the inequality we see in other financial markets," said Osaka. "Cryptocurrencies started with the goal of being accessible to everyone and breaking down barriers to entry.”
If @StephenCurry30 @TomBrady and @giseleofficial are in then you know I am too! Excited for the journey ahead with @FTX_Official and SBF_FTX pic.twitter.com/ydrjhoKPaL
— NaomiOsaka大坂なおみ (@naomiosaka) March 21, 2022
As an FTX ambassador, Osaka joined figures including seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bündchen, and NBA star Stephen Curry. The exchange said she will “creatively direct and produce content” aimed at a global audience, and feature FTX’s logo during her competition at the Miami Open, beginning on March 21.
The announcement followed FTX founder and CEO Sam Bankman-Fried saying during Australian Blockchain Week the exchange will be opening an Australia arm. Local Senator Andrew Bragg said at the same event he will be introducing legislation aimed at addressing issues in crypto custody, taxation and DAO operations.
Osaka, previously ranked as the top singles player by the Women's Tennis Association, is not entirely new to the space. Together with her sister Mari, she launched a nonfungible token collection in August 2021 which sold for roughly $600,000. The tennis star has also expressed interest in cryptocurrencies including Dogecoin (DOGE), hinting that token projects are “going to pop up.”
Related: Australia's largest crypto exchange will sponsor tennis star Ajla Tomljanovic
Many celebrities, including major sports figures and stars from movies and television, have become the faces of crypto firms as the space grows. Actor Matt Damon famously plugged Crypto.com in an October 2021 ad spot that has been mocked by comedy shows including South Park and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
