Financial Associates News November 11 (Editor Xiaoxiang) When sports superstars such as Tom Brady (Tom Brady) and Stephen Curry (Stephen Curry) signed with FTX last year, the price of bitcoin was soaring , the industry is booming, and cryptocurrency advertisements are even played in the Super Bowl game known as the "American Spring Festival Gala"...
However, now, when the "super ship" of the currency circle is about to sink, these people Familiar names are also unfortunately bound together... The explosion of
FTX has far-reaching influence
Many big-name stars in the sports and entertainment fields have either invested in FTX or served as the company's brand ambassadors in the past few years. Many of them have promoted FTX among their social media followers. But now, they are more or less involved in this currency crisis: either their huge investment was wasted, or the advertisements they played in the past caused public backlash.
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler said Thursday that people should educate themselves about cryptocurrency investing, even with celebrity investors involved.
said in an interview, “There are celebrity CEOs and celebrity crypto entrepreneurs in this field. The public may become victims of their business methods such as promotions and marketing. Sam Bankman-Fried (SBF), who had posted dozens of tweets at one point on social media on Thursday, explained what had happened over the past week and apologized to users. SBF said it was closing its trading firm Alameda Research. FTX is looking to raise about $9.4 billion from investors and rivals to fill a funding hole after Binance rejected a bid for
on Wednesday.
FTX lent about $10 billion worth of client assets to fund high-risk bets at firm Alameda Research, a affiliate, according to sources, setting the stage for the exchange’s collapse. You know, FTX has only about $16 billion in customer assets in total. The Bahamas Securities Commission, where
FTX is headquartered, froze the assets of FTX Digital Markets Ltd. and related parties on Thursday and appointed a provisional liquidator.
In this FTX thunderstorm, many venture capital firms that participated in the early financing of FTX suffered heavy losses. Sequoia Capital wrote down the value of its entire investment in the cryptocurrency exchange FTX to zero on Wednesday. Other institutions that may be completely wiped out include: BlackRock, Ontario Teachers Pension Fund, Tiger Global , Softbank, Temasek , etc.
The sports and e-sports fields have become the hardest hit areas
Of course, takes into account that FTX has put a lot of advertising and sponsorship in the sports and e-sports fields in the past few years. Obviously, not only Wall Street is affected by this currency storm.
In the sports arena, NBA teams Miami Heat and Major League Baseball are closely associated with FTX. In April 2021, the Miami Heat announced that they had formed a long-term partnership with FTX.US, and the two sides signed an agreement worth up to $135 million, which is one of the most expensive naming rights contracts ever. Starting with the 2021-22NBA season, the Miami Heat's home will also be known as "FTX Arena."
FTX also reached a partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) last year, and FTX will enjoy global marketing rights for special events. This is the first time in the history of MLB that it has reached a cooperation agreement with a cryptocurrency exchange. As part of the agreement, MLB referees will wear the FTX logo on their uniforms.
In addition, FTX and eSports club Team SoloMid also reached a 10-year, $210 million exclusive naming rights partnership last year, the largest deal in esports history.
FTX has also reached a 7-year partnership with fist game , the developer of " League of Legends ", and obtained the sponsorship rights of League of Legends Championship Series (LCS).
In addition to these official cooperation, there are countless stars who are closely related to FTX. Here's the "tip of the iceberg" in industry statistics:
Stephen Curry
Four-time NBA champion , who currently plays for Golden State Warriors, American basketball superstar Stephen Curry just starred earlier this year An ad for FTX. In the ad, Curry says he doesn't need to be an expert to securely buy, trade, and sell cryptocurrencies on FTX's app.
FTX said last year that the NBA superstar would receive FTX's equity and serve as FTX's brand ambassador, with a portion of Curry's earnings paid in cryptocurrency.
FTX has said this as a gimmick, and this is Curry’s first investment in the cryptocurrency space. As of Thursday morning, Curry was still on the FTX website as a brand ambassador.
Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen
NFL superstar Tom Brady and his ex-wife Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen, who just announced their divorce last month, also have a long-term partnership with FTX. Brady is a brand ambassador for FTX, and Gisele Bunchen has served as a consultant for the company's environmental and social initiatives. They also hold equity in FTX.
Brady and Bundchen also participated in a $20 million ad campaign for the company last year. They shot a set of advertisements to introduce acquaintances to join the FTX platform.
Trevor Lawrence
2021 NFL No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with FTX in April 2021. He also received part of the signing bonus in the form of cryptocurrency.
Shohei Otani
Shohei Ohtani is a star player who plays for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball , and he is also a rare player in modern professional baseball who is a double-blind player. FTX said last year that it had formed a long-term relationship with the star pitcher and hitter and that he would become one of FTX's brand ambassadors.
FTX said his full compensation will be in stock and cryptocurrency, and he will make annual donations to charities on his behalf.
Shaquille O'Neal
The four-time NBA champion who retired in 2011 and the contender for the first center in history - Shaquille O'Neal is also the brand ambassador of FTX. FTX also sponsored O'Neal's weekend music Mardi Gras "Shaq's Fun House" during this year's Super Bowl. In a video posted by
on FTX's Twitter account in June, O'Neal said, "I'm excited to be working with FTX to help make cryptocurrencies accessible to everyone. I'm fully committed. How about you?"
Osaka Naomi Osaka, the first Asian athlete in the history of Naomi
to reach the No. 1 singles in the World Women's Open, became the brand ambassador of FTX in April this year. Naomi Osaka and have also acquired equity in FTX.US and FTX, and will be paid in cryptocurrency.
FTX said at the time that Naomi Osaka would wear the company's logo in the competition and create encrypted currency content for women. The cooperation between the company and Naomi Osaka will further promote the realization of the future of digital currency and Web3 by allowing more different voices to participate. The goal.
