According to a report from the Miami Herald yesterday, the FTX cryptocurrency exchange is preparing to sign a deal to sponsor the home of the National Basketball Association team’s Miami Heat – a move that will give the exchange exclusive naming rights to the 19,600 arena.
“Miami-Dade County is nearing the signing of a cryptocurrency company to succeed American Airlines to sponsor naming rights in downtown Miami Heat – a deal that would provide the NBA with its first venue for Bitcoin and other electronic currencies,” says multiple sources it in the report.
The Herald also noted that “internet breadcrumbs” suggest that FTX is preparing for the move by registering the internet domain “ftxarena.com” and buying FTXarena social media handles.
According to reports from 2019, the county was in the market for a new sponsor and was hoping to be able to rename the arena by 2020. American Airlines previously paid $ 2 million a year to sponsor the arena.
The move appears to be part of a broader strategy aimed at promoting cryptocurrencies and DeFi from SBF companies and investments.
In that case, the move to acquire the naming rights of a popular arena could be the product of Blockfolio co-founder Edward Moncada. In Cointelegraph’s Top 100 series, Moncada’s profile (it reached number 17) noted his interest in how crypto relates to various elements of popular culture, including sports:
“Now that he’s an integral part of FTX’s marketing and has Moncada’s passion for branding and mass communication, Cointelegraph wouldn’t be surprised to see important initiatives to raise awareness of FTX and Blockfolio to a much wider, non-crypto-native audience. Moncada has on occasion made extensive comments on demographic synergies between sports, music and crypto, and Cointelegraph will be looking to see if there is wider reach in these sectors. “
