Chelsea Secures First Crypto Shirt Sponsor in USD 24M Deal
Shortly after the UK seized the club from sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich and a group of investors paid GBP 2.5bn (USD 3.1bn) for his shares, Chelsea FC is teaming up with digital asset investing platform WhaleFin under a shirt sponsorship deal for the next season.
The deal, estimated to be worth some GBP 20m (USD 24m) per year, will enable the Blues to launch their first foray into the crypto sphere, Sky News reported.
“As Amber Group continue to expand coverage of their platform globally, they will now have the ability to not only speak to the hundreds of millions of loyal Chelsea fans around the globe but also be seen by the billions who tune into the Premier League each season,” said Guy Laurence, Chelsea FC Chief Executive, as quoted in a statement.
Meanwhile, WhaleFin, a business owned by Singapore-based Amber Group, is working to add more major football firms to its portfolio of endorsements. The platform is in talks with Atletico Madrid to sign a five-year EUR 40m (USD 42m) deal that would be more than double what the Spanish club is paid by its current shirt sponsor, online trading platform Plus500, per industry publication Inside World Football.
The latest developments come as Amber Group is gearing towards a new round of funding that could bring the firm’s valuation to some USD 10bn, undisclosed sources close to the discussions told reporters. Last February, Amber Group’s series B+ round generated a total of USD 200m from a group of investors led by Singaporean state-owned holding company Temasek. The February round raised Amber Group’s valuation to some USD 3bn, according to data from the firm.
Amber Group says that, to date, its platform has processed a total trading volume of more than USD 1tn, with over 150 countries supported and more than 1,000 institutional clients using the company’s services.
Meanwhile, as reported, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao also discussed buying Chelsea but has ruled out any such deal.
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