Prominent cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com has pulled out of a five-year sponsorship deal worth US$495 million with the UEFA champions league, Europe’s elite soccer league, initially reported by SportBusiness.
The Singapore-based crypto exchange was set to take over from Russian-state-owned energy company Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) after UEFA exited the deal following the war in Ukraine.
However, the deal was scrapped because of regulatory concerns in the UK, France and Italy, with legal issues surrounding the scope of its licences to trade and operate in the said countries, said Sportbusiness.
Meanwhile, in Australia, the country’s treasury department had also expressed concerns about the crypto advertisements in sporting arenas and television and is pushing for regulation on this front.
Earlier this year, Crypto.com launched a five-year sponsorship deal with the Australia Football League for US$25 million and became one of the official sponsors of the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
UEFA narrowly missed out on what was set to be one of its largest-ever sponsorships for the Champions League earlier this summer when a deal with the cryptocurrency platform fell through at the last moment, SportBusiness understands. https://t.co/nnD5CjmF8Z— SportBusiness (@SportBusiness) August 31, 2022
Major sponsorships
Crypto.com already has several sponsorships in its kitty for various sporting arenas and teams across the world and has paid millions of dollars in advertising costs to date.
In 2021, the exchange joined forces with Formula 1 for its Sprint series, having formerly agreed to sponsor the Aston Martin team in the racing event.
In basketball, it signed a 20-year, US$700-million deal to rename Los Angeles’ Staples Center the Crypto.com Arena.
The exchange also had actor Matt Damon feature in its 'Fortune Favors the Brave' TV spot, which launched in October.
https://t.co/vCNztATSCO is proud to be the first crypto trading platform sponsor of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ????See you in Qatar! @fifaworldcup #worldcuphttps://t.co/vYZjDA1BMZ pic.twitter.com/ppFfkEG6q2
— Crypto.com (@cryptocom) March 23, 2022
Regulation in Australia
Australia will become the first country to pioneer a ‘Token Mapping’ exercise in an attempt to define the various types of digital assets and bring them under a regulatory framework, amidst concerns about the crypto advertisements “plastered all over big sporting events”, which inspired its intentions to push ahead with the regulation.
Australian Treasurer Dr Jim Chalmers MP said: “As it stands, the crypto sector is largely unregulated and we need to do some work to get the balance right so we can embrace new and innovative technologies while safeguarding consumers.
“With the increasingly widespread proliferation of crypto assets — to the extent that crypto advertisements can be seen plastered all over big sporting events — we need to make sure customers engaging with crypto are adequately informed and protected."
This exercise will outline new rules on digital assets in order to safeguard and educate consumers about extreme market volatility and the possible pitfalls of crypto investments.
The Albanese Government will improve the way Australia's regulatory system manages crypto assets, to keep up with developments and provide greater protections for consumers.https://t.co/CpLMFUkn1I— Jim Chalmers MP (@JEChalmers) August 21, 2022