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Crypto firms spend £1.9bn on sports sponsorships as they rack up advertising expenditure

FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Official Emblem Unveiled
DOHA, QATAR - SEPTEMBER 03: The Official Emblem of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™️ is unveiled in Doha's Souq Waqif on the Msheireb - Qatar National Archive Museum building on September 03, 2019 in Doha, Qatar. The FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™️ Official Emblem was projected on to a number of iconic buildings in Qatar and across the Arab world and displayed on outdoor digital billboards in more than a dozen renowned public spaces major cities. (Photo by Christopher Pike/Getty Images for Supreme Committee 2022)

Crypto companies have spent $2.4bn (£1.9bn) globally over the last year and a half on sports sponsorships as they splurge on marketing.

Major crypto firms have signed deals with big athletes, sporting franchises, and leagues as they seek to rival the marketing prowess of non-crypto brands, according to Bloomberg. 

Crypto exchange Binance has signed with football star Christiano Ronaldo, while FTX contracted with the NBA, and Crypto.com sponsored the Formula One grand prix this year even as the crypto crash sends cryptocurrency prices plunging with drastic layoffs across the industry.

“We think crypto will be ubiquitous, so we’re carefully looking at how we become ubiquitous,” said Crypto.com Chief Marketing Officer Steven Kalifowitz, Bloomberg reported, with exchange sponsoring the FIFA world cup tournament in Qatar this year, which will have billions of viewers across the globe.