Crypto exchange Kraken has signed a sponsorship deal with the Williams Formula One team in another sign of a thaw in the crypto winter.
Sports sponsorship has suffered in recent month following the collapse of several high profile crypto business.
Kraken’s deal with Williams marks a revival in interest for the team which last year canned a “multi-year” commercial deal with the Terra Virtua metaverse platform.
Kraken’s Chief Marketing Officer, Mayur Gupta, said that 2023 seemed like the best time for the exchange to enter into a sponsorship deal.
“We were never impulsive,” he said. “During the last bull run, we did not ride the Formula One wave.”
The Williams deal will see Kraken branding appear on the halo and rear wing of the cars for the remainder of the 2023 season. Branding will also feature on both driver and team uniforms. Financial details were not revealed.
It is also understood that digital artists who have sold their work through Kraken’s non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace will have their work displayed on the rear wings of the cars.
Crypto Faces Tough Times with Formula One
Crypto and Formula One have had a checkered past. Last year, 100% of all Formula One teams had at least one crypto sponsor, this year that figure is closer to 70%.
But several deals went south after notable collapses saw $2 trillion of crypto’s market cap wiped out. Coinbase and Crypto.com laid off notable proportions of staff as macroeconomic conditions and lowered investor confidence threatened vital revenue streams.
Among other high profile deals to be scrapped, FTX’s sponsorship of Mercedes collapsed when the exchange went into bankruptcy. Ferrari tore up a deal with the Velas blockchain, and Red Bull Racing’s arrangement with Tezos ended after Tezos decided not to renew it.
During the 2022 season, crypto companies flush with cash tried to appeal to F1’s wealthy audience.
And Kraken itself didn’t escape unscathed. In November, it laid off around 30% of its workforce and closed offices in Abu Dhabi and Japan.
It also reached a settlement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month over claims its cryptoasset staking services broke local rules. It agreed to pay a $30 million penalty and discontinuing those products in the country.
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