Crypto.com signs multi-year sponsorship deal with Aston Martin F1 Team

• Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has signed a multi-year contract to sponsor Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team.
• The two groups also plan to work together on products in the crypto room.
• It underscores the growing power of cryptocurrency platforms as interest in Bitcoin and other tokens grows sharply.

Cryptocurrency platform Crypto.com has signed a multi-year contract to sponsor Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team, as Insider can reveal. This is a sign of the growing power of digital currency companies.

The rapid growth of the cryptocurrency market has drawn British luxury automaker Aston Martin – famous for making James Bond’s cars – which is returning to F1 with its own team for the first time in 61 years in 2021. The groups did not reveal the value of the partnership agreement, under which they also plan to work together on products in the crypto room.

Crypto.com saw a boom in users as the price of digital tokens like Bitcoin rose. The customer base of the exchange and payment company has doubled to around 10 million since October.

“The fact that a cryptocurrency company can make such a statement and vote with such a respected brand with such a long history as Aston Martin makes a statement that the industry is maturing,” Crypto.com CEO Kris Marszalek told Insider.

Jefferson, Aston Martin F1 Commercial Director

Relaxed
Insider said the team is trying to position itself “at the forefront of innovation and technology”. It has signed a headline sponsorship deal with the American IT company Cognizant and will be officially called Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One.

For Crypto.com, the deal offers great brand awareness. In 2020, an average of 87.4 million viewers watched F1 races.

Slack said that the connection isn’t just about Crypto.com branding on the car. He said the groups also plan to work together on products in the crypto room.

“There are things called NFTs. This is where we want to push that. There are payment systems. We want to be with Crypto.com to understand this area.” An NFT is a non-fungible token – a crypto-asset that can act as some sort of collector’s item.

Marszalek said the deal “felt natural”. He said: “There are many parallels between Formula 1 racing and cryptocurrency. You need speed to win, but speed is nothing without security.”

Aston Martin F1 will officially unveil its team in an online event on Wednesday that will reveal its colors and car design. It emerged from a rebranding of the Racing Point F1 team after Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll took over a 16.7% stake in Aston Martin.

The team has four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel as one of its drivers for Aston Martin’s first season as a separate team since 1960, as well as Lance Stroll, Lawrence’s son. Aston Martin previously sponsored Red Bull F1 but did not have a team of their own.