OKX, a bitcoin spot and derivatives exchange, is the newest in the business to enter the sports market. The firm just inked a sponsorship contract with Manchester City, the Premier League Champions, that covers its men’s, women’s, and esports teams.
According to a press statement issued today, the two companies will combine to give a variety of “experiences” to OKX’s consumer base. According to CoinGecko, the exchange is the second largest in the world by daily trading volume, trailing only Binance.The firm’s partnership with Manchester City also implies that OKX will have a “presence” at Etihad Stadium and Academy Stadium, the former of which is the UK’s tenth largest football stadium.
OKX isn’t the first cryptocurrency exchange to make money off of sports sponsorships. Coinbase’s logo and branding are plastered everywhere from the NHL to the NBA, while Crypto.com and FTX just invested a lot of money to buy the naming rights to major sports facilities.
Last month, all three of these commercials fought in a Super Bowl ad battle. Coinbase said that their website failed due to an overflow of traffic shortly after the commercial aired, indicating that the advertising were successful.
It’s possible that the focus on sports is linked to demography. Young males are more inclined than others to invest in cryptocurrency, according to a CNBC survey from August, and they are also more likely to be sports lovers.
Athletes are increasingly investing in cryptocurrency. Last year, Odell Beckham Jr. of the NFL took his full pay in Bitcoin, while Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers stated in November that he would be accepting a portion of his own salary in Bitcoin. Meanwhile, Tom Brady is significantly invested in the cryptocurrency business, with his own startup, Autograph, and a stake in FTX.
The company’s sports push, according to FTX CEO Sam Bankman Fried, is “obviously working.” Last month, he told Decrypt that it’s “penetrated more than everything else” in terms of promotion that FTX has done, and that it’s “top of mind” for anyone who’s heard of the company.
