This is the second major deal Coinbase has sealed this week following a collaboration with Facebook
Coinbase has a new sponsorship deal with the NBA, making it the official cryptocurrency platform for the sports franchise. CNBC reported yesterday that the crypto platform intends to expand its reach, and the sports league will provide the necessary exposure.
"Beginning with tonight's tip off of the NBA's 75th Anniversary season, Coinbase will have a brand presence featured during nationally televised games. The company will also become the presenting partner of the WNBA Commissioner's Cup and the USA Basketball men's and women's national team exhibition tours, as well as a partner of NBA G League Ignite," the NBA shared in a press release.
Through this exclusive partnership, Coinbase will reach the divisions under the NBA umbrella, including the WNBA, NBA 2K League, USA Basketball and the NBA G League. The deal didn't mention anything about NBA fans being able to buy tickets and merchandise using crypto.
This is not the first time US basketball has crossed paths with cryptocurrencies. Mark Cuban's Dallas Mavericks made significant steps in adopting crypto as the team has been accepting payments using digital assets via BitPay since 2019. In addition, The Sacramento Kings have previously ventured into Ethereum mining. The California-based Kings also became the first major sports team to offer player salaries in Bitcoin earlier this year.
Yesterday, the Los Angeles Lakers announced a partnership with blockchain-based fan token platform Socios to offer virtual events for fans, reflecting Socios’ continual expansion in the US. Now, fans can interact and debate matters around their favourite team.
The Lakers' President of Business Operations, Tim Harris, noted that the partnership with Socios.com would allow the team to offer better support to fan initiatives. Socios.com chief executive Alexandre Dreyfus lauded the LA Lakers as a strong brand that would help his company expand.
"The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most prestigious brands in sport, and I'm thrilled to be working with them as Socios.com rapidly expands into the US market. What an awesome way to round off another great incredible week of growth. We've laid down some really significant foundations to take fan engagement to the next level in US sport, and we couldn't be more excited about what's to come next."
The token provider is continually growing in sports and is a massive investor in football as well. It has collaborated with some giant European football clubs including Barcelona, Juventus, PSG and Milan. Last month, it reached an agreement for a fan token with Argentinian outfit Boca Juniors that could generate about $10 million for the club.