Unaffected by the unfavorable connections the cryptocurrency business has received as a result of the events of last year, cryptocurrency exchange OKX has increased its sponsorship agreement with English and European soccer champions Manchester City.The exchange announced via email on Friday that the OKX logo will be added to the players’ training uniforms and placed on the sleeves of Man City’s on-field jerseys starting with the upcoming season.The three-year contract, according to OKX, will pay the team $70 million total.
In 2021 and 2022, cryptocurrency companies began to sponsor elite sports groups on a regular basis. Companies like FTX and Crypto.com had their names on stadiums and arenas and had their logos displayed on players’ or officials’ uniforms.However, the failure of FTX in November of last year has caused clubs to reconsider their affiliation with cryptocurrency businesses.
“Our partners definitely wanted to know if we would be in a similar situation to FTX,” Haider Rafique, OKX’s chief marketing officer said in an interview.“Rather than answering those questions on an individual basis, we introduced them to our proof of reserves.”
Proof of reserves are a cryptographic technique for proving a cryptocurrency exchange is liquid enough to handle all customer withdrawals, ensuring the security of its users’ money.Rafique claimed that partners including Man City and the McLaren Formula 1 team had been checking OKX’s evidence of reserves, and that board members had even emailed the exchange with concerns.Passing their litmus test is a huge confirmation for us, Rafique added. “They were being very critical of us.”