The Past Week In Crypto News (Nov. 10th-17th): Crypto.com Sponsorship and More

Crypto exchange Crypto.com has announced that it has reached a naming-rights sponsorship deal with seventeen-time—and defending—NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers will reportedly receive $700 million over 20 years, while the legendary Staples Center, which is one of the most famous arenas in the world, will be renamed as “Crypto.com Arena”. This deal marks another sports-related sponsorship by Crypto.com, who is already in partnership deals with the UFC, NHL, F1, Paris Saint-Germain, etc. The NBA is also increasingly involved with crypto companies. The league itself recently reached a deal with Coinbase while multiple NBA teams are now sponsored by crypto companies. 

Crypto exchange FTX has announced a new addition to its celebrity endorsements. The company has reached a sponsorship deal with Shohei Ohtani. The All-star pitcher is one the most talked-about athletes of late, not just in the MLB, but in the sports world in general. Ohtani will serve as a brand ambassador while receiving equity and cryptocurrency as compensation. FTX will also donate to certain charities of Ohtani’s choosing. The crypto exchange has consistently reached sponsorship deals with athletes such as Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Aaron Jones and more. The company even has a logo sponsorship with the MLB.  

Bitcoin company NYDIG has announced that it has reached a deal to sponsor the Houston Rockets. The sponsorship will be paid for entirely in Bitcoin. NYDIG is a company that offers products that help individuals and organizations integrate Bitcoin payments and offer BTC-related services more easily.  The Houston Rockets stated that they “Will work with NYDIG to expand the Bitcoin ecosystem through access, educational programming, and community support initiatives while providing NYDIG significant exposure across all of the team’s social, digital, and in-arena platforms." This partnership comes at a time during which crypto companies are being heavily involved with sports, as it seems that both sports teams and sports fans are enjoying these sponsorships. 

The country of Barbados will be opening a digital embassy in the metaverse. Decentraland, a virtual game/social world, announced that it has reached a deal with Barbados to open a digital embassy in a plot of digital land. The island country is planning to legally declare its digital plot of land in Decentraland as an embassy, a move that could legitimize the metaverse on a whole new level. Virtual goods in Decentraland are paid for in Mana, its native cryptocurrency. With the recent hype of the Metaverse, this announcement will surely add even more excitement to the Metaverse/Crypto space. 

Constitution DAO, a DAO started by a group of friends, is trying to buy a one-of-13 copy of the US Constitution. The DAO announced on its Twitter account that it has raised $23 million so far (at the time of writing), and they need only $14 million to participate in the auction at which the copy is being sold. What started out as an idea by a small group of friends last week is now a huge fund governed by a large group of people. DAO stands for Decentralized Autonomous Organization and is essentially the next evolution of organizations in Web3. The DAO owners will own tokens that decide where the constitution will be placed, how it will be displayed etc. They will not, however, have direct ownership of it. You can read more about the Constitution DAO here.

This initiative has gone viral and may become the moment that the crypto community will remember in the future as the time when DAOs started to enter mainstream culture/adoption.