Football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has signed an exclusive multi-year nonfungible token (NFT) partnership with crypto exchange Binance. The collaboration aims to introduce soccer fans to the Web3 ecosystem through global NFT campaigns. In the announcement sent to Cointelegraph, Binance noted that the agreement involves creating a series of NFT collections with Ronaldo. These will be sold on the Binance NFT platform exclusively, with the first collection coming out later this year. Changpeng Zhao, the CEO and founder of Binance, praised Ronaldo's accomplishments in soccer and mentioned that the athlete has "transcended sport to become an icon in multiple industries." Zhao …

The longer the crypto market stays in bearish territory, the more marketing deals with American sports teams are being taken off the table as crypto firms tighten their belts. Crypto exchange FTX has been rethinking its marketing plan to plaster its name and logo across Los Angeles Angels jerseys, according to a Monday report from the NY Post. The dramatic market downturn is likely to blame for the retractions. Another patch deal between an undisclosed crypto firm and the Washington Wizards was axed just as the crypto market began its violent tumble in recent weeks. The crypto firm in question …

The disorder before the UEFA Champions League final game may lead to the widespread adoption of nonfungible tokens (NFTs) for ticketing at sports events in in France. The country previously stated that it intends to use NFT tickets during the 2023 Rugby World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics. Mass ticket counterfeiting was one of the causes of the chaotic scene at the May 28 soccer championship. It turned into a major embarrassment for the country after police used tear gas to restore order and the match between Liverpool FC and Real Madrid was delayed. French Government Olympics envoy Michel Cadot …

Blockchain logistics firm the VeChain Foundation has signed a multi-year marketing partnership with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) worth nearly $100 million, becoming the UFC’s first-ever layer-1 blockchain partner. The UFC is the largest promoter and event organizer for Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) and VeChain’s marketing assets and brand will be integrated across the UFC in live events, in-arena promotion, social media and other areas. The deal is reportedly worth almost $100 million over a minimum five-year partnership, according to an anonymous source quoted by Sports Business Journal. The UFC’s senior vice president of global partnerships, Paul Asencio, said the …

Bitcoin (BTC) has been attributed as the most prominent blockchain use case, showing the technology’s prowess in successfully delivering an immutable and truly decentralized ledger over the past 13 years. Adding to the years of innovations since then— that saw the introduction of altcoins, nonfungible tokens (NFT), decentralized finance (DeFi) and more, a study conducted by fintech giant Deloitte highlighted the untapped potential of the crypto ecosystem to open up newer markets for the sports industry. Fan tokens and NFTs were first introduced to the sports industry to increase fan engagement via collectibles and voting mechanisms. However, Deloitte, one of …

In his monthly crypto tech column, Israeli serial entrepreneur Ariel Shapira covers emerging technologies within the crypto, decentralized finance (DeFi) and blockchain space, as well as their roles in shaping the economy of the 21st century. Die-hard sports fans first got a taste of how digital assets could become the next sports memorabilia phenomenon back in June 2020, with the launch of Dapper Labs’ NBA Top Shot Moments nonfungible token (NFT) collection. Since then, the pro sports industry has actively capitalized on the NFT craze. That’s not at all a bad thing, considering NFTs solve the digital ownership question once …

The founder of the $723.5 million Azuki nonfungible token (NFT) project “Zagabond” caused a sh*tstorm yesterday after revealing that they had previously worked on three abandoned NFT projects. After facing strong backlash from the NFT community, they have since apologized for their “shortcomings.” The three projects in question are Tendies and CryptoPunks copycats CryptoPhunks and CryptoZunks. “Zagabond” suggested all three had failed due to a lack of community support and other factors such as team members leaving or high gas fees on Ethereum. After releasing the blog via Twitter, most replies were in support of “Zagabond’s” honesty on the trial …

Top golfers from Africa and Europe will be eyeing lucrative Bitcoin (BTC) payouts at the end of the 2022 season after a new sponsorship of South Africa’s Sunshine Tour. The year-long season sees golfers compete for the top spot on Sunshine Tour’s overall leaderboard, the Order of Merit. Crypto platform Luno, which has a big footprint in South Africa and the wider African continent, has assumed the title sponsorship of the overall rankings. Money talks in sport but the language is certainly evolving, with Luno casting aside rand-based awards for the top golfers on the Order of Merit in favor …

Iconic rapper Ice Cube — also known as O’Shea Jackson Sr. — has jumped on the Dogecoin (DOGE) bandwagon with his endorsement of an “incredible and historical” DOGE transaction. Cube’s entry into the wild world of Dogecoin is related to the BIG3 basketball league that he co-founded. The organization predominantly features former NBA stars in a three-on-three format as opposed to the regular five-on-five basketball games. Last month, the BIG3 launched a new ownership model for the league, which consists of selling tokenized stakes in each of the 12 teams. There are 1000 nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in total allocated to …

The Crocodile Minter Australia Zoo, the famous animal sanctuary owned by Terri Irwin, the widow of Steve Irwin or the crocodile hunter, has launched a nonfungible token (NFT) project called “Wildlife Warriors.” Wildlife Warriors is also the name of a nonprofit organization founded by the Irwins in 2002 which focuses on the protection of injured, threatened or endangered wildlife. All profits from the NFT sales will be donated to the Australia Zoo and Wild Warriors conservation efforts. The NFT collection is a part of the 20th-anniversary celebration of the Australia Zoo, and users can now sign up for the allow …

Blockchain network Algorand has partnered with FIFA inking a sponsorship and technical partner deal as the network becomes the soccer association’s first official blockchain platform. The deal announced on Monday will also see Algorand become a regional supporter in North America and Europe for the 2022 FIFA World Cup to be held in Qatar in November and December. BREAKING: @FIFAcom has announced #Algorand will become the official blockchain of FIFA, empowering the global football community with cutting-edge, sustainable technology. Read more https://t.co/LTTUqGNLNA @FIFAWorldCup #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/LuEFTY3WK6 — Algorand (@Algorand) May 2, 2022 Algorand will also be an official sponsor of the …

After suffering significant losses due to issues stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, the sports industry has turned to crypto to recoup its losses and help fans stay connected with clubs in today’s socially-distanced world. Over the past 18 months, countless deals and sponsorships have been reported between Web3 projects and sports teams, and if things go as planned, this might be just the tip of the iceberg for these two industries. With the prices of Bitcoin and memecoins like Dogecoin (DOGE) and Shiba Inu (SHIB) exploding, projects are starting to realize the importance of a loyal community and are making …