Crypto companies are constantly making inroads into different industries. These partnerships inevitably increase crypto awareness and basically facilitates the onboarding of the public.
In yet another ambitious move to push crypto into the public domain, crypto.com has been officially announced as one of the sponsors of the world cup in Qatar.
The world cup, normally scheduled for summer but now being held in the winter, will feature 48 countries competing to be the best footballing country in the world.
The world cup is also the largest sports event in the world, garnering billions of views throughout the tournament.
Football is easily the most global sporting activity on the face of the planet, and it is played in literally every country. Some countries fancy it more than others but there's no doubting its gigantic global footprint in the sports scene.
Despite attempts by Governments to stifle the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, the central exchanges, in particular, have been aggressively pushing back.
In the USA for example, the super bowl which is also probably the biggest sports event in the country was marked with an iconic move by Crypto.com.
Binance exchange was a major sponsor in the recently concluded African cup of Nations that garnered hundreds of millions of views. This move would have definitely gotten more eyes and ears on Binance/cryptocurrencies as a whole.
As big as the Staples Center and Afcon might be, they pale in comparison to the impressive gigantic monstrosity that is the world cup.
I remember during the Russia 2018 world cup when Budweiser was one of the sponsors and ran a lot of fun adverts. Ever since that world cup, that beer's stocks and global distribution network rapidly rose.
In a Wednesday announcement, the association said Crypto.com’s branding will appear both inside and outside of stadiums for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 scheduled to begin in November. The crypto exchange will provide opportunities for its users to attend matches and win official merchandise as part of the sponsorship.
Fifa generally has nothing against cryptocurrencies and so, crypto companies can sponsor events, as well as FIFA-registered institutions like football clubs in different countries. This is despite the feelings of the hosting country.
The rules surrounding cryptocurrencies in Qatar are quite similar to the way it is Nigeria. Freeman Law described it as crypto being banned at an institutional level.
Cryptocurrencies are illegal at an institutional level in Qatar. In February 2018 the Supervision and Control of Financial Institution Division at Qatar’s Central Bank issued a circular to all banks operating in Qatar warning against trading in bitcoin.1 The circular described bitcoin as illegal and unsupported by any central bank or government.
The legal framework in the country and their general stance towards crypto will not have any impact on the advertisements that will be run during the tournament.
Note that while being one of the super-rich Arab countries, Qatar actually has a very tiny population. Trading economics puts them at roughly 2.8 million people in 2020. Ironically, population projection estimate that the number might even have dropped slightly by now.
So, based on the population alone, it is evident that the decision to advertise in the world cup is definitely targeting the international market. If crypto.com actually pulls it off properly, they'll be reaching a global audience of over 1 billion people.
This has the potential of transforming crypto.com into a household name in many countries around the world.
There's no doubt that this is a big move and will definitely cost Crypto.com more than a penny to advertise on what is probably the biggest stage in the world. However, it is also a bold move to push cryptocurrencies into the spotlight.
