Promoters of the Miami Grand Prix have announced a new nine-year deal with the world’s fastest-growing cryptocurrency platform, with the race to be officially called the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
Details were released about The Crypto.com Terrace which sits within the campus, as well as the Crypto.com Fan Zone, which will take place on the field in the centre of the Hard Rock Stadium.
South Florida Motorsports (SFM) has announced Crypto.com as the official title partner of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
Formula 1’s official website report: “This prestigious new deal will see Crypto.com become an integral part of the newest Formula 1 event on the calendar, with its brand incorporated into the official event title and logo, in addition to exposure across the Miami International Autodrome.
“The long-term deal between the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix and Crypto.com is the first commercial partnership to be announced in the build-up to the inaugural event that will take place on the new 5.41km circuit in Miami Gardens.
The Miami International Autodrome, round five of the season set to take place on, 6-8 May is to be the 11th different Grand Prix venue in the United States to host a World Championship Formula 1 race.
This will be an international event and we look forward to growing together on a worldwide scale
“We are excited for our long-term title partnership with Crypto.com. We share their commitment to innovation and will apply those high standards to the fan experience at the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix,” said Jeremy Walls, Senior Vice President, Chief Revenue Officer of Hard Rock Stadium & Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix.
F1 fans will already be familiar with the logos of Crypto.com, as the platform became a Global Partner of Formula 1 in 2021. With over 10 million users worldwide, committed to building the future of the internet, Web3.
Powered by cryptocurrency, Web3 will be more fair and equitable, owned by the builders, creators and users.
In addition to prominent signage across the circuit, Crypto.com branding will be integrated across the Miami Grand Prix campus.
The Crypto.com Terrace hospitality area features unparalleled 360 degrees views of the track, including an exclusive observation deck at Turn 4. Level one of this space will be open to all fans attending the event.
Fans will also have the opportunity to visit the Crypto.com Fan Zone which will take pride of place in the center of the Hard Rock Stadium, on the field, and will feature a host of entertainment and activities across the weekend.
Kris Marszalek, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Crypto.com said: “Building on our global partnership with Formula 1, we are thrilled to be the first commercial title partner of the Formula 1 Crypto.com Miami Grand Prix in the city that is fast becoming the crypto centre of the U.S.
“Technology and innovation are at the core of what we do, which strategically aligns with the sport of racing, and together we will create exciting experiences at the intersection of Web3 and F1 Racing,” added Marszalek.
Crypto companies are betting counting on advertising to go mainstream
The F1 deal is part of high profile sponsorship/ markting partnerships being made to legitimise cryptocurrency to the mass market by all the big players.
None have made a bigger splash than Crypto.com with a commercial on Sunday’s Super Bowl and a $700-million deal last year to rename the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Crypto.com Arena.
Little known a year ago, the privately-owned Singapore company ran a flashy Super Bowl ad alongside mega brands such as Budweiser, GM and Pringles, as well as rival crypto platforms, in a push to dramatically grow its user base.
Other crypto platforms FTX, Bitbuy and eToro also ran Super Bowl ads. But the game was just the latest publicity push from Crypto.com.
Last year, it launched a $100 million advertising campaign across 20 countries starring actor Matt Damon, inked sponsorship deals with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Ultimate Fighting Championship and got 20 years of naming rights to the former Staples Center. On Thursday night, the Crypto.com Arena hosted the Super Bowl Music Fest.
Six-year-old Crypto.com is the brand name for a global group of entities operating under the name Foris DAX. Its financials are not fully public and Crypto.com has not disclosed its investors, although it says it has no Wall Street backers.
Its aggressive marketing push has raised eyebrows. Some see it as a sign the frothy crypto market is a bubble about to burst.
“There’s a huge amount of money that is sloshing around the system at the moment, and therefore, everyone is in land-grab territory and looking for ways to put it to work,” said Adam Shapiro, a partner at investment firm Klaros Group.
Founded in 2016 by Hong Kong-based entrepreneurs, Crypto.com is the sixth-largest cryptocurrency exchange
That’s by daily volume, according to researcher CryptoCompare. It has more than 10 million users but wants to reach another billion, and become a top-20 global brand, its CEO Kris Marszalek has said.
Getting in front of everyday Americans through sports partnerships is its strategy. Super Bowl advertising reaches around 100 million viewers. Broadcaster NBC charges as much as $7 million for 30 seconds.
“If you’re reaching 150 million potentially in one event, it could pay for itself pretty quickly,” said Paul Rogash, chief executive officer of BetU, a crypto sports betting platform.
The crypto market had a dizzying year in 2021, as money flooded in, pushing the value of all cryptocurrencies to more than $3-trillion.
Crypto.com has tried to break ahead of the pack with high-profile partnerships including one announced last month with basketball superstar Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers who will play their home games at the Crypto.com Arena.
Its commercial starring Damon, directed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Wally Pfister, was so widely aired that South Park parodied the ad in its 2 February season premiere.
“The playbook they’re playing is, we’ve got lots of cash. Let’s get our name out there,” said Robert Siegel, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a venture investor. Crypto.com declined to comment.
Is this a Crypto bubble with a big burst at the end?
The company started out as a crypto wallet and payment platform named Monaco and in 2017 raised $25 million through an initial coin offering. In 2018 it re-branded to Crypto.com and launched an exchange in 2019.
Like its rivals, Crypto.com earns fees on transactions, as well as on debit cards offered in partnership with Visa. It has a $500 million venture arm that invests in crypto and blockchain startups.
According to its website, the company has 3,000 employees globally and has openings for 584 roles careers in marketing, human resources, compliance, engineering and business development, among others.
That staffing level is bigger than the 2,781 staff listed in the most recent filing by the largest U.S. crypto exchange, publicly listed Coinbase, which was founded in 2012 and has 72 million users.
Last year, Crypto.com said it was expanding its institutional client base, such as hedge funds and market makers.
Some compare the crypto spending-spree and Crypto.com’s growth to the dot-com bubble
Unlike Binance, Coinbase and other rivals with Wall Street investors, Crypto.com says it has never raised institutional funding. Marszalek told Bloomberg in January the company’s revenues grew 22-fold last year.
“They’re probably making a lot of money at a time where a market is insanely speculative,” said Siegel.
Some compare the crypto spending-spree and Crypto.com’s growth to the dot-com bubble when several overly-inflated tech companies went bust. These people have warned that investors are likely to drop risky digital assets when the U.S. Federal Reserve starts to raise rates aggressively.
Cryptocurrencies have had a rocky start to 2022, with Bitcoin tumbling under $40,000 for the first time since the fall.
Crypto.com is trying to position itself ahead of the pullback and is spending whatever it takes to get there, said Mark Basa, global brand manager at HOKK Finance, a crypto company: “I think that they’ll win that race.” (Reporting by Hannah Lang)
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