Crypto Corner: The Sports Slice

We’re in the MLB playoffs, but the biggest sports and crypto headlines this past week weren’t baseball-related (although yes, MLB do has an NFT agreement with growing sports platform Candy Digital). Nevertheless, we had a couple of headlines and topics of discussion around Formula 1 and European football to keep things fresh.

Let’s take a look at the latest sports and crypto stories from the past week.

The sports disc

Formula 1 files New NFT trademark applications

Formula 1 has been working in the crypto space for a short time before, signing a league with Crypto.com previously and allowing individual racing teams to secure crypto partners themselves. However, the league is apparently on the way to getting involved with NFTs, following a new trademark application filed in recent days.

According to USPTO registered trademark attorney Mike Kondoudis, “Formula 1 has filed 8 trademarks for ‘F1’ covering: Cryptocurrency + NFTs, NFT + Crypto Marketplaces, Retail Virtual Goods Stores, Blockchain Financial Transactions, Cryptocurrency Trading + Mining… and more.”

The deal could see a potential NFT partner enter the mix for F1, as Crypto.com has really owned the crypto category for the racing league so far. But as the 2022 bear market continues to trudge through the year, Crypto.com is rumored to be scaling back its existing sports partnership activations – and Formula 1 is one of the names that has been mentioned in that mix.

Digitalbits (XDB) is currently on the losing end of a rough battle as speculation around the health of the platform's deal with European soccer club Inter Milan is abound. Rumors have been floating that the platform's partnership with Inter Milan could be severed in the weeks ahead. | Source: XDB-USDT on TradingView.com

Rocky roads between Inter Milan and Digitalbits?

Inter Milan ended a 26-year deal with tire manufacturer Pirelli in 2021, replacing the deal with fan token platform Socios. In addition, Milan signed with NFT platform Digitalbits, and rumors of concerns about the partnership have surfaced in recent months.

The rumors resurfaced this past week, with Italian football tables and local reports speculate that Digitalbits owes a significant sponsorship payment to the club and that the deal could be canceled by the end of the month. The rumors certainly have legs, as Digitalbit’s branding across the club’s training ground, home ground touchlines and club headquarters has reportedly been removed. All that remains is the most valuable asset, the club’s shirt patch – which seems unchanged so far.

In addition, we are only three months away from extensive reports that the relationship between the two parties did not see eye to eye. Many football publications reported that Digitalbits had apparently not paid on time, and Inter were considering legal proceedings against the firm.

European football has been particularly favorable to crypto-related sponsorships and partnerships compared to many other major sports; with a global reach and appeal, and plenty of gray areas to work around in sponsorships, clubs have had mixed results to date with crypto trading – both in European football and beyond.

Meta secures sports partnership with Liverpool

When one door closes, another opens. Despite many headlines surrounding the lack of excitement for Meta’s VR and crypto expeditions in recent years, a new deal is in the works for the Zuckerberg-led firm, and there’s another European soccer club in the mix.

Liverpool will work with Meta around new avatars and “metaverse clothing”, which will also be available on Meta Quest VR by the end of the year. The licensing agreement between the two parties will be the first of its kind for a European football club, according to SportsProMedia. The deal will award a revenue share for Liverpool and will be active in seven different markets worldwide.

The deal is not Liverpool’s first “metaverse” exploration, as they have previously attempted an NFT release with limited success. Meta, meanwhile, has navigated a similar avatar-based deal in the past with the NFL around the Super Bowl.

Liverpool’s SVP of digital Drew Crisp said the club has “more than 70 million global supporters who follow our Facebook and Instagram channels and… are really looking forward to seeing many of these avatars change and don our iconic kit or lifestyle clothing.”

Featured image from Pexels, Charts from TradingView.com

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