- The multi-year agreement defines Bybit as a Principal Team partner
- As the 'new' Tech Incubator Partner, Bybit will push for sustainability, diversity, and inclusion
The Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team revealed on Wednesday that it reached a $150 million agreement with Singapore-based crypto exchange Bybit. The deal is expected to run for three years, with the funding split evenly at $50 million annually.
According to the press release, the deal also marks the "single largest per-annum cryptocurrency venture" within the international sporting space.
Bybit will join the team as a principal team partner – a newly-introduced level of partnership for the team. Among other activities, the exchange will also become the sole cryptocurrency exchange partner and Oracle Red Bull Racing Team's tech incubator partner.
The tech incubator collaboration would allow Bybit to work with the team on several positive initiatives. It will root for green technologies, push to fight crypto illiteracy, and participate in sustainability efforts.
The two parties will also introduce coding to new demographics, support women in blockchain, promote diversity, and push for STEM careers. The Milton Keynes-based team's latest deal comes hardly a week after completing a $300 million over five years partnership with behemoth software company Oracle.
Enhancing fan engagement through digital innovation
Bybit would take the role of a token issuer, in line with the team's ambition to boost fan engagement. The crypto exchange would help distribute the team's 'fan token' and its expanding array of digital assets.
While welcoming Bybit onto this journey, team principal and CEO of Red Bull Racing Christian Horner asserted that the exchange was focused on bringing the fan experience alive via an innovative digital experience. He also concluded that there lies suitability between the parties as the two share the same passion,
"Allied to that is Bybit's commitment to enlivening the fan experience in F1 through digital innovation. This is also a key mission for the Team and Bybit's assistance will help us build a deeper, more immersive and unique connection with the team for fans around the world," Horner explained.
This isn't the racing team's first dive into the blockchain space. Last year, it reached a partnership agreement with Tezos to develop NFTs. Part of the agreement was to use innovative methods to enhance fan engagement.