Crypto.com Looks to Sports to Capture Non-Crypto Audience

Crypto.com wants to increase its sports sponsorships to reach a wider audience.

The company is targeting sports as a driver to reach non-crypto enthusiasts and “will double down on our strategy,” Chief Marketing Officer Steven Kalifowitz told Bloomberg News on Sunday (May 5) ahead of Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix, which Crypto.com is sponsoring.

Crypto.com has lent its name to that race since its 2022 debut, part of a 10-year, $10 million deal, the report said. The company is also the global sponsor for Formula One, with that five-year deal worth $100 million.

In addition to auto racing, Crypto.com also has partnerships with the Philadelphia 76ers,  the Ultimate Fighting Championship and the Australian Football League. Hip-hop star Eminem recently narrated an ad for the company during an NBA playoff game, held at the Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.

Kalifowitz told Bloomberg that his company’s visibility has increased since it began dedicating its marketing efforts to the sporting world, with Crypto.com now boasting more than 100 million users.

The report noted that crypto sponsorships of sporting events have been on the rise since the downfall of FTX in 2022.

That company had its own ties to the sports world, with athletes that endorsed the exchange such as Tom Brady and Shaquille O’Neal the subject of lawsuits by investors.

Last month, a group of those investors agreed to drop legal claims against Sam Bankman-Fried, FTX’s disgraced founder, in exchange for his cooperation against the sports stars and other celebrities paid to promote the company.

According to the settlement, the plaintiffs believe Bankman-Fried has “knowledge and other information” that could be valuable for their case. As part of the agreement, Bankman-Fried would also hand over non-privileged documents that detail his assets and his investment in artificial intelligence (AI) startup Anthropic, along with an affidavit certifying his net worth as negative.

Meanwhile, Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek observed last month that his company’s venture capital unit has doubts about some of the steep valuations seen recently in the sector.

“We want the financial return,” Marszalek told Bloomberg in April. “At this moment, valuations being thrown around by project teams are very generous.”

The company has also been on a hiring spree, saying last month it was looking to add 1,400 employees. It’s part of a recent wave of hiring crypto sector, with companies such as Coinbase Global, Kraken, Binance and Gemini all recently adding positions.