Bleeding Edge Crypto

When crypto meets Formula One. I've been a fan of Formula One since the late 1980s when drivers still used stick shifting and Senna had his world famous rivalry with Prost and the sport's governing body, the FIA. This year's championship, with only two Grand Prix's left, is equally epic, with Max Verstappen trying to win his first championship against seven times world champion Lewis Hamilton.

Equally exciting is the battle between the two teams Red Bull and Mercedes; Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton by 8 points, while Mercedes leads Red Bull by 5; these two last races will determine which driver and which team will become world champion. No matter whose side you're on, I think we can all agree that we're seeing an epic battle between the very best drivers and the very best teams; fans are in for a treat, as it's almost certain that both championships will be decided in the very last race. Maybe it will become a thriller like in 2008, when Felipe Massa held the title for 39 seconds. Massa won the Brazilian Grand Prix in the rain and was already celebrating his world championship with Ferrari, but Hamilton passed Timo Glock in the final corners to finish fifth, securing him the points to become the world champion by a single point, just 39 seconds after Massa crossed the finish line...

But that's not what this post is about; sorry for reminiscing slightly off-topic... No, in this post I want to celebrate another feature of Formula One, which is how the sport has always been on the bleeding edge of technology, and how it has embraced crypto currency sponsorships since 2019 when Red Bull became the first team to embrace a sponsorship deal with FuturoCoin. For those who don't know, Formula One started out as a race between millionaires who decided to start a competition between themselves to see who could build the fastest car and who could drive that car hardest. It has always been a sport between people as well as between machines, which explains why technology plays such a large role, and why it's such an expensive endeavor to participate. Nowadays it's a competition between drivers and large car- and motor-manufacturers, with the biggest brands, Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull Honda, battling it out at the front. Much o fthe millions of dollars needed to run a team comes from sponsorships, and for us crypto-heads it's good to see more and more ponsorship deals with crypto-related products and platforms.

We are all embracing the bleeding edge of technology on this platform, because we've all embraced crypto currencies as the future of money. I was surprised that it took so long for Formula One to do the same, as it seemed a perfect marriage with both Formula One and crypto currencies being at the absolute forefront of technological development, albeit both in their own environment. I wasn't surprised at all to see Red Bull becoming the first team to cash in on that natural partnership though, as Red Bull has always presented themselves as the young rebellious and playful team on the grid. Mainstream adoption of crypto currencies is what we all wish for, so I was very excited when Liberty Media, the parent organization of the Formula One Group, landed a 5 year $100 million sponsorship deal with Crypto.com in June this year. Crypto.com has thereby secured brand presence in all races and are the official brand sponsors of the sprint races, a new qualifying format that determines the starting grid positions.

As a fan of both Formula One and crypto currencies it's a true delight to watch every race without being able to escape the Crypto.com logo. It's everywhere! I must admit to a great deal of hypocrisy on my side here, as I hate advertising and branding with a passion; but here I'm glad to set aside my principles as the importance of mainstream adoption of the money of the future outweighs my hate for commercialism and consumerism. I see a bright future for this partnership, as is summarized by these words from Kris Marszalek, co-Founder and CEO of Crypto.com:

"We are extremely proud to be the first cryptocurrency sponsor of Formula 1, joining a prestigious collection of brands supporting a sport with technology and innovation at its core. [...] We look forward to many years of innovating together, and will begin at the Belgian Grand Prix where we will present a brand new award. We're also excited to partner with F1 in the development of exclusive NFTs, connecting fans to the sport in new and innovative ways."
_{source: formula1.com}

I'm a happy man right now, with two races left in the most exciting championship in over a decade, and still four years left of races where the Crypto.com brand exposure will prime the general public for acceptance of crypto currencies.

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