BtcTurk ‘the First’ Exchange to Sign Sponsorship Deal w/ National Teams

Turkey-based cryptocurrency exchange BtcTurk has emerged as the main sponsor of Turkey’s Women and Men’s National football teams. This makes them the world’s first cryptocurrency platform to sign a sponsorship deal with a national team, the exchange said.

Per a Reddit post from BtcTurk’s official account, this sponsorship deal with backing from the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) is a “very significant partnership” for the national teams as they head on to the UEFA European Championship coming up in 2021.

“BtcTurk became the first cryptocurrency platform in the world to sign a sponsorship with a national teams,” the announcement said.

Commenting on the significance of 28-month valid deal, BtcTurk CEO Özgür Güneri said that the move will help place BtcTurk as the premium cryptocurrency exchange brand in the world. “We take great pride in being one of the “Main” supporters of our National Teams at the UEFA European Championship, which will be held in 2021 — the first time the games will be held in an odd-numbered year,” he added.

A move by BtcTurk to carve a niche for itself as a sponsor of football teams was made in 2019 when the exchange inked a shirt sponsorship deal that saw the Turkish Football club Yeni Malatyaspor wear jerseys emblazoned with BtcTurk’s logo for the 2019-2020 Turkish Süper Lig season.

“Last year, we supported Yeni Malatyaspor, one of the successful clubs in TFF’s Super League, as their name and jersey sponsor. This year, we continue to contribute to the Turkish sports and football community,” said Güneri in this latest announcement.

As previously reported, according to Statistica’s Global Consumer Survey for 2019, 1 out of 5 Turkish respondents owns cryptocurrencies in some form. This high crypto ownership rate in Turkey is noted to be associated with the inflation-plagued national fiat currency, the Turkish lira.

The Cryptoverse was swift to reach to the news, with some congratulating the exchange on the partnership, and others expressing their worries of a potential crypto ban. “The best preparation is hodling some cryptos,” said a user, with another adding: “You gotta admit, banning crypto is now a lot harder there because they’d basically be destroying the main sponsor of the national football team.”