Coinbase has become the exclusive cryptocurrency partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) as part of a long-term sponsorship deal, according to an announcement on Tuesday.
In the press release, Coinbase revealed it will be the “exclusive cryptocurrency platform partner” of the NBA as part of a sponsorship deal that will last for several years. The tie-up extends to the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), NBA 2K League, NBA G League, and USA Basketball.
The publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange said the deal will entail content creation and campaigns aimed at educating the fans on key developments in the crypto ecosystem. “As part of the partnership, we will create interactive experiences to engage with the NBA and WNBA’s incredible community and athletes around the world,” Coinbase Chief Marketing Officer Kate Rouch said.
Coinbase will also be the presenting partner of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup and the USA Basketball men’s and women’s national team tours. The partnership comes as the NBA prepares to begin its 2021-2022 season, marking the team’s milestone 75th anniversary season. Starting tonight, Coinbase will get a brand presence on all nationally televised games.
This NBA partnership announcement comes days after the San Francisco-headquartered exchange announced its move into the non-fungible token (NFT) arms race with the launch of its own NFT marketplace that will let users mint and trade Ethereum-based digital collectibles.
It’s worth noting that some NBA teams have already been active on the cryptocurrency front. The Dallas Mavericks, with Mark Cuban at the helm, is widely known for accepting cryptocurrency (including meme coin Dogecoin) for ticket payments and team merchandise.
In April this year, the Sacramento Kings became the first pro sports team to offer Bitcoin salaries to its players and staff. The NBA franchise has previously embarked on Ethereum mining as part of a charitable project dubbed “MiningForGood”.
In addition, the NBA previously teamed up with Dapper Labs on the basketball collectible platform known as TopShot, which allows fans to buy digital cards that represent different players and unique moments.
FTX cryptocurrency exchange, meanwhile, has signed deals with Major League Baseball (MLB) and NBA’s Miami Heat.
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