Lewis Hamilton has won the British Grand Prix for the eighth time, overcoming a first-lap collision with Max Verstappen and a 10-second penalty.
Hamilton won the crypto-sponsored event in exciting fashion as he overtook Charles Leclerc with three laps left. What is more impressive about Hamilton’s home-soil victory is that the move he made to overtake Ferrari’s Leclerc is the same move that went wrong in the opening lap and sent Verstappen into the barriers at considerable speed.
Hamilton showed courage to try again, and he has been rewarded for his bravery, although his actions have been labelled “dirty” by some and has cost him two championship points.
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Events off the track have been just as significant as on them. Formula One is now sponsored by Crypto.com in what is rumoured to be a five-year sponsorship deal worth over $100 million. The deal will award Crypto.com with advertising boards in the best trackside locations of F1 events.
Crypto.com is a cryptocurrency trading platform with over 10 million active users. The British Grand Prix 2021 was the first Grand Prix event since the crypto sponsorship was secured. You’ll see their brand trackside of all the remaining events this season, starting with the Belgian Grand Prix in August.
The sponsorship agreement isn’t just for show and money. Formula One lead, Ben Pincus, has been reported saying that Formula One is very much interested in what cryptocurrency can offer the sport and that they plan on using the expertise at Crypto.com.
Not the First Crypto Deal in F1
It is not the first time that crypto sponsorship has found its way into Formula One. Initial exposure to crypto came through Crypto.com’s sponsorship of the Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team.
Crypto.com has also struck sponsorship deals with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Just days after announcing the F1 deal, the platform has announced a reported 10-year sponsorship deal with UFC worth around $175 million. The crypto brand will be seen across the sport, including on fighter’s kits.
The deals being done by Crypto.com are not in isolation. Many other crypto companies are looking to tap into the sports market and huge audiences to grow their brand and their crypto business.
Many Premier League football teams now have crypto shirt or sleeve sponsors, and a Hong Kong crypto exchange called FTX started sponsoring Major League Baseball (MLB) in the USA. This was the first time a crypto exchange had sponsored a professional sporting league.
A Sign of the Crypto Times
The growing rise of crypto sponsorship in sport is a reflection of cryptocurrency in wider society. As more people choose to invest in Bitcoin, Ethereum and altcoins, and maybe spend them weekly on orthodox purchases – or even gamble with them at a crypto casino – the more valuable a sporting sponsorship deal is for crypto companies where they can penetrate a huge market.
The number of people owning a Bitcoin wallet has risen sharply over recent years. Data published by Statista states that as of 2021, there are now more than 70 million Bitcoin wallet owners.
Sporting teams and leagues are of specific value to crypto companies seeking new sponsorship opportunities. Sport captures the attention of younger people who are part of a demographic more likely to be already active in crypto markets or considering getting involved.