Crypto.com says Big Money Formula 1, UFC pays as user base expands

Crypto.com has found itself front and center for major fans in the world of Formula 1 (F1) and Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

Speaking to Cointelegraph in a wide-ranging interview on February 9, Crypto.com President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Anziani described the company's high-profile advertising campaigns with F1 and UFC, as well as its naming rights deal for Crypto. .com Arena in downtown Los Angeles:

“We are fortunate to have these wonderful partners. F1, UFC, working with Crypto.com Arena and AEG in LA.

Anziani noted that market surveys conducted by the exchange show the level of global awareness of product recognition from the perspective of a retail cryptocurrency user.

“It's very difficult and very challenging to maintain a brand that's built in two years. It's very challenging to control the minds of consumers, and I think those investments have clearly paid off,” Anziani said.

Crypto is reaching millions of fans.

ESPN averaged 1.11 million viewers per race in the 2023 Formula 1 season in the United States alone. Meanwhile, F1 viewership figures by 2022 show the sport will attract more than one billion viewers across the race calendar.

The UFC also attracts an international audience, drawing similar viewership numbers to an F1 event on fight nights in the past two years. Some of the sport's biggest fights, including Khabib Nurmagomedov and Conor McGregor, sold 2.4 million pay-per-view tickets.

Related: OKX doubles down on McLaren deal as F1 continues to attract crypto companies

Crypto.com's logo will be prominently featured on the floor of UFC octagons and on cage padding, prime advertising real estate for what has been named one of the world's fastest growing sports.

“We've also seen a lot of activities that are relevant to fans and attendees as brands come together. It's been great in terms of being able to bring people into the space with these partnerships,” Anziani said.

Related: Crypto betting firm Stake secures naming rights for Sauber's F1 team

The partnerships have played a role in Crypto.com's growing user base. Previous estimates put the number of users on the exchange at 80 million by 2023. Anziani told Cointelegraph that the exchange is approaching 100 million users by 2024.

What makes a crypto exchange different?

As its footprint grows, Anziani said the exchange is looking to provide specialized services to high-volume and high-value traders. The company launched an invitation-only program in February 2024 that requires a $1 million deposit to activate Crypto.com Prime membership.

“When I want to do a big business, block trading, I need extremely low fees, I need deep liquidity. So we put together the books and gave them two basic points,” Anziani said.

The program includes institutional-level protection, $1 million account protection, and uncapped fiat transfers. The chief operating officer added that the service includes individual account managers for high-net-worth traders to accumulate wealth and consider inheritance and tax implications.

Related: Crypto.com president talks MCA, which will allow exchanges to expand across Europe

Cointelegraph asked Anziani what kind of exchanges he plans to develop in terms of business models and offerings as more of the world's population gains exposure to cryptocurrencies. The exhibition presented three different issues that seemed to encourage the user's choice of exchange platforms:

“It's a very good question, but it's a complicated one. First of all, regardless of your profile, as a user, you want a place where you know your money is safe, and you have to trust the platform.

Anziani said other users are more focused on convenient access to cryptocurrency by quickly transferring funds in and out of the service or buying tokens with “two taps.” Meanwhile, payments will play an important role as high-value, high-volume merchants seek an application programming interface, or API, to connect and exchange funds.

Anziani added, “I think everyone needs the foundation of compliance and safety as a starting point,” noting that it's a big starting point in ecosystem failures like FTX.

Crypto.com is among a number of cryptocurrency exchanges and businesses looking to capitalize on the global audience reached by major sports codes. OKX is a prominent sponsor of Manchester City of the English Premier League and F1 racing team McLaren. Cryptocurrency betting platform Stake has joined the F1 party in 2024, securing a two-year naming rights deal with the Sauber F1 team.

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