Cypto.com was the first company in the cryptocurrency industry to work with a Formula 1 team.
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 team
It was announced today that Formula 1 will partner with the cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com. The deal is reportedly worth $ 100 million and offers Crypto.com world-class branding slots in the new Sprint qualifying rounds at the upcoming British GP. The deal also provides the crypto exchange with trackside billboard real estate for the remaining rounds of the 2021 season.
However, this new deal isn’t the sport’s first contact with the crypto market. The Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 team announced its own partnership with Crypto.com back in March. The collaboration helped produce NFTs of the first moments of the new Aston Martin F1 car that hit the track. Speaking to Steve Kalifowitz, CMO of Crypto.com, he said there were more to come.
“We worked closely with [Aston Martin Racing] to create content, strategy and to provide undisputed valuable content for our customers. The first videos and moments of Sebastian were available to people to buy as collectibles [Vettel] and lance [Stroll] drive the new car. ”Kalifowitz continued,“ Our customers get special access to Aston Martin and F1 in general. Will these be extended directly by the NFTs? These are the things that are still being discussed. But the entire industry is still experimenting to find out what works for different properties. ”
Lance Stroll, Aston Martin AMR21
Zak Mauger
When asked about the initial partnership, Kalifowitz said: “Two years ago you could not have imagined that a company like Aston Martin in Formula 1 would partner with Crypto.com. And where crypto used to be shunned because they weren’t sure, people are now embracing it and seeing that it’s a good technology and can solve a lot of problems if used properly. “
The reason for the “avoidance” in recent years is almost certainly due to the lack of understanding of the technology, but above all to the extreme volatility of the crypto market. The term “crypto bubble” and direct comparisons with the dotcom bubble have been tossed around a lot lately, but according to Kalifowitz we have already passed that point and are in a new phase of growth.
“After the dot-com bubble burst, we got social media and today’s biggest companies, Facebook, Twitter and others. A lot has been built and the internet has matured in those years. You can often see that today with cryptocurrencies, ”said Kalifowitz. “Crypto had its bubble moment in 2017 and then people forgot about it for a while.”
Crypto.com’s sponsorship goes beyond stickers on the side of the car. The previously published NFTs … [+]
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 team
Then, last year, crypto picked up speed again. The difference between now and before 2017? Kalifowitz said, “The crypto industry has matured. Adults run the show now. ”
By “adults” Kalifowitz means that institutions get involved and that traditional veterans of the financial industry bring their experience to top positions. At Crypto.com alone, the Chief Compliance Officer of Visa and Chase came, the General Manager in Great Britain worked at HSBC, the GM in the US is formerly Charles Schwab, and the Head of Business Development is also formerly Visa.
“The difference between now and 2017 is that there are institutions in the game and they are less nervous than retailers. It’s much more sophisticated and many neighbors got involved in it in 2017. “
This assurance is one of the reasons Aston Martin chose to partner with Crypto.com. And while the crypto market can experience volatility, the Aston Martin Formula 1 team will not be affected. While Crypto.com has a massive presence in the digital currency space, the partnership is more like a traditional racing team sponsor relationship.
Speaking to Rob Bloom Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One CMO, he said he and his team had reservations but realized that there was still a lot to learn. “Nobody can model these things exactly, but it feels like we’re probably at the same point on the curve with a brand like YouTube as we were 15 years ago.” Bloom continued, “Virtually nothing has made it the world’s dominant brand designed for video content. And all of it completely digital. Where will these brands be in another 15 years? We don’t know for sure, but they certainly won’t go away. “
Cypto.com will increase its presence in F1 races from auto sponsorship to trackside billboards.
Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1
Any new market has an inherent volatility. Bloom and the Aston Martin Formula 1 team entered this deal with open eyes, but are incredibly optimistic about the future. “It’s a new market – and one that we wouldn’t claim to fully understand – so we wanted to educate ourselves in it. What was really valuable is the time that Crypto.com took to patiently guide us through the landscape. “
Cryptocurrency is fundamentally complicated. Even industry veterans will admit that. However, the maturity and confidence of traditional finance industry stars must be an indication that crypto has unrealized potential.
Formula 1 teams on the starting grid are always up to date with the latest possibilities on a racetrack. And as any engineer on the team will tell you, making the cars as fast as they do is is an incredibly complicated thing. If a sport can sympathize with the lack of understanding due to its complexity, then it is Formula 1.
If you are optimistic about what technology cryptocurrency can achieve, developing the Formula 1 partnership with Crypto.com will be a story to follow. On the other hand, you’re in the camp who thinks crypto and NFTs are the beanie babies of this generation. Either way, when two entities of this magnitude come together, it’s worth the attention.
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The post Cryptocurrency is expanding its presence in Formula 1 with a $ 100 million deal first appeared on monter-une-startup.
