The latest cryptocurrency collapse has reached Chase Center.
The Golden State Warriors announced Monday that they would be suspending their partnership with the cryptocurrency company FTX after their game against the San Antonio Spurs, according to ESPN.
The reason? FTX just took a nosedive.
Last December, both the Warriors and FTX announced a “first-of-its-kind” cryptocurrency partnership in professional sports in which FTX became the team’s official cryptocurrency platform and NFT marketplace. The Warriors began dropping NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, on FTX’s website earlier this year.
At the time, Brandon Schneider, the Warriors president and chief operating officer, said, “Cryptocurrency has a well-
established worldwide community and is going to continue to be a major part of
the sports, media and entertainment industries.”
With the partnership, the Warriors became the first team in sports to execute an NFT drop in 2021 with the team’s “Legacy NFT Drop,” a collection that included various editions of the team’s six NBA championship rings and 10 commemorative ticket stubs.
In addition to the cyber marketplace, FTX also had logo placement on the basket pole pads and press table for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team’s minor league affiliate. For its e-sports brands, FTX had its logo virtually placed on the Warriors Gaming Squad court during NBA 2K League games and integrated its digital presence into other live streams.
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The final Chase Center promotion was a Jordan Poole bobblehead giveaway at the arena Monday night, which had been in the works months before the company declared bankruptcy last week. All other FTX-related promotions and ads have since been removed.
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Prior to declaring bankruptcy, FTX was the fifth-largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The company crashed earlier this month and saw about $6 billion in requested withdrawals over a three-day period. Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, backed out of its plans to acquire FTX, leaving the latter on the brink of collapse.
The Warriors have become the second NBA team to cut ties with FTX after it declared bankruptcy. The Miami Heat ended their naming rights deal with the company and are seeking a new sponsor forwhat was formerly known as FTX Arena. The company purchased the naming rights in a 19-year deal worth $135 million.
FTX also has several other sports endorsements and partnerships. The company was prominently featured with a patch on Major League Baseball umpire uniforms.
The company also had working relationships with high-profile athletes, including the Warriors’ own Stephen Curry. He was made a global ambassador for FTX and given an equity stake in the company in 2021.
Chase Center is not the only Bay Area palace of sports that promoted FTX.
In August 2021, FTX agreed to pay $17.5 million for the naming rights to UC Berkeley’s California Memorial Stadium for ten years. The deal with UC Berkeley’s athletics department saw the home of the Golden Bears football team renamed FTX Field at California Memorial Stadium.
In addition to naming rights, FTX received on-field branding and branding on athletics press backdrops, along with social media integration. Both sides called the naming-rights deal a first between a college athletics department and a cryptocurrency firm.
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The agreement was brokered by Learfield, a college sports marketing company that represents more than 200 of the nation’s top collegiate properties.
As of writing, neither Learfield nor UC Berkeley’s athletics department has announced if either will be terminating FTX’s naming rights deal with California Memorial Stadium.
