Bybit Enters USD 150M Deal with Red Bull F1 Team; Plans Fan Token, NFT Collaboration

Adoption NFT Non-fungible tokens Sport
Last updated:
Author
Author
Fredrik Vold
About Author

Last updated:
Why Trust Cryptonews
Cryptonews has covered the cryptocurrency industry topics since 2017, aiming to provide informative insights to our readers. Our journalists and analysts have extensive experience in market analysis and blockchain technologies. We strive to maintain high editorial standards, focusing on factual accuracy and balanced reporting across all areas - from cryptocurrencies and blockchain projects to industry events, products, and technological developments. Our ongoing presence in the industry reflects our commitment to delivering relevant information in the evolving world of digital assets. Read more about Cryptonews
Source: A screenshot, Instagram/redbullracing

 

Bybit, one of the top 10 crypto exchanges by spot volume, has entered into a major sponsorship agreement with the Formula One team Oracle Red Bull Racing, with the exchange now taking on a new role of the “Issuance Partner” for fan tokens and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) for the racing team.

With a value of USD 50m per year for three years, totaling USD 150m, the deal marks the largest sponsorship agreement on a per-year basis for any crypto company in sports.

It is followed by Crypto.com’s sponsorship of the Los Angeles arena formerly known as Staples Center, now Crypto.com Arena. That deal is worth USD 35m per year, although the total over the 20 years that the deal will last is significantly higher at USD 700m.

The deal between Bybit and Oracle Red Bull Racing means that the exchange will become a Principal Team Partner of the racing team, while also being designated a Tech Incubator Partner, as well as a Fan Token Issuance Partner.

In terms of token issuance, Bybit will help Oracle Red Bull Racing distribute “its growing digital asset collections,” an announcement from Bybit said. 

It further said that “NFT activations” and “social tokens” are a part of the plan, but without elaborating further.

The USD 50m annual sponsorship fee will be paid in a combination of cash and BIT tokens, the announcement said. BIT is the governance token of Bybit’s investment-focused decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) BitDAO.

The new sponsorship deal is not the first time a crypto-native company has ventured into Formula 1 to help with the issuance of so-called fan tokens, which some have predicted will become an ever-more important way for sports teams of all kinds to generate revenue.

Last June, McLaren Racing announced a long-term sponsorship deal with the Turkish crypto exchange Bitci.com, which also included the release of NFTs and a fan token.

According to a Bloomberg report published yesterday, however, the sponsorship agreement has now been terminated, with no reasons given for the termination and no mention of the future of the fan token.

The termination followed news from last week that a planned Bitci.com fan token for Premier League football team Wolverhampton Wanderers had yet to be issued despite the deal being signed last June.

The team is still carrying out due diligence, unnamed sources “familiar with the matter” told Bloomberg in regards to the reason that the tokens had not yet been issued.

____

Learn more:
Bitso Going All-in on Football Crypto Transfers, Sponsorships in LATM as World Cup Approaches
Official Winter Olympics P2E Game Is a Non-Starter in the Games’ Host Country

5 Crypto Trading Platforms and 1 DAO are Set to Air Ads During Super Bowl
Dreams of the Metaverse: Rethinking Sports Through High-Tech

Binance and FTX Competing for Landmark Barcelona Shirt Sponsorship Deal – Report
Investor Purchases 330 Adidas NFTs Using Smart Contract – 328 More Than the Cap

More Articles

Altcoin News
Meteora Co-Founder Ben Chow Resigns Amid Libra Meme Coin Controversy
Ruholamin Haqshanas
Ruholamin Haqshanas
2025-02-18 07:17:06
Blockchain News
Argentina President Admits Meeting Libra Team, Denies Endorsement Allegations
Shalini Nagarajan
Shalini Nagarajan
2025-02-18 05:58:27
Crypto News in numbers
editors
Authors List + 66 More
2M+
Active Monthly Users Around the World
250+
Guides and Reviews Articles
8
Years on the Market
70
International Team Authors