Cryptocurrency companies are increasing their sports investments and sponsorship as they seek to capitalize on the industry’s renewed enthusiasm after Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Some of the most prominent transactions this month included Stablecoin Tether’s group buying a 5% participation in Juventus, Italy’s most successful soccer club with 36 league titles, while Gato Cryptocurrente Exchange.
The agreements occur while the cryptocurrency industry celebrates a Renaissance that was partially driven by Trump’s support, which launched his own crypto currency days before his return to the White House last month. His electoral victory boosted Bitcoin to more than $ 100,000 (R $ 582,200), leading to records of trading and raising the fortunes of cryptocurrency business.
Although the collapse of FTX cryptocurrency Exchange in late 2022 left numerous teams and sports leagues at the loss, Bitcoin’s resurgence injected new life with the capacity of the sector to fund sports sponsorship.
Cryptocurrency companies closed 22 sports groups this year, compared to 18 in the same period last year, according to the Sportquake marketing agency. The number of agreements rose to 117 last year, above 93 of the previous year, but still less than 173 closed in 2022.
The average value of new agreements since the beginning of 2025 is approximately US $ 4.3 million (R $ 25 million), the agency said, compared to US $ 2.6 million (R $ 15.2 million) in the same period last year. For the whole of 2024, the annual value of the new announcements announced totaled US $ 305 million (R $ 1.8 billion), over US $ 247 million in 2023, but less than half of the 2022 peak of US $ 681 million (R $ 4 billion).
Other agreements completed this year include a partnership this month between Coinbase and F1 team Aston Martin Aramco, supported by Saudi Arabia, which was paid at StableCoins. The Xbo.com cryptocurrency Exchange has become the official sponsor of Argentina’s National Football Team this week.
Branding sponsorships and agreements with large sports teams help cryptocurrency companies reach a wider audience and can potentially attract thousands of new retail traders to buy and negotiate tokens.
But the image of the sector has also suffered because it is linked to other risk industries, such as gambling, which will be banned from the front of the team’s shirts at the Premier League of England from the 2025/26 season.
In addition to the potential damage to their own reputation, sports organizations also risk being accused of exposing fans to possible financial losses, said sports marketing expert Tim Crow, emphasizing the need to perform due diligence in any commercial partner.
In 2021, the UK Advertising Regulator censured Arsenal Football Club for a “fan tokens” promotion which, according to the agency, did not highly highlight the risk of investment. At that time, warning Standards Authority scolded several companies by promotions linked to cryptocurrency assets.
This has not prevented cryptocurrency betting houses from taking action with Sportsbet.io, a sports betting house and online casino of cryptocurrencies, making last month the main partner of the Snooker Championship Players and two other major tournaments. The CLOUDBET cryptocurrency betting group last month signed an agreement with Professional Fighters League, a Mixed United States Martial Arts Group.
“If you associate your club with a brand, it suggests to your fans that you trust them,” Crow, founder and CEO of Crow Business Services told them. “It is better to be absolutely sure that you have made your proper diligence about them so that your fans don’t happen.”
The agreements between cryptocurrencies and sports are enjoying a return since the collapse of FTX and the arrest of their former chief Sam Bankman-Fried, who forced a reevaluation of the agreements. The company had a long list of sponsorship, but its bankruptcy made thousands of ordinary investors lose money and reduced the appetite of sports teams for signing deals with cryptocurrencies.
The fierce sponsorship competition means that most commercial rights holders in sports are price binders instead of defining, Crow added, giving greater leverage to cryptocurrency companies that seek sports teams to endorse them.
