Istanbul-based cryptocurrency market Icrypex has paid in Bitcoin for its sponsorship deal with Turkish basketball club Beşiktaş JK, whilst Rangers FC also enters the cryptocurrency field.
Under the terms of the agreement Icrypex’s logo will appear on the front of the basketball team’s jerseys in exchange for 42 Bitcoins, the equivalent to between $1.3 million and $1.6 million.
Beşiktaş JK has joined a range of international sports clubs to embrace cryptocurrency firms as a sponsorship partner.
Other notable teams to have forged cryptocurrency agreements include Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Atlético Madrid and AC Milan, all of which signed deals with Socios.com.
In addition, Welsh club Swansea City FC, currently competing in the EFL Championship, also recently signed an agreement with Mercuryo, described by the global payment networks’ CEO, Petr Kozyakov, as ‘a sports and innovative technology alliance’.
Gökalp İçer, Chief Executive of Icrypex, said his company is ‘trying new things that have never been done in this industry…the sponsorship agreement signed with Beşiktaş JK should also be considered within this scope’.
He continued: “We want to expand our collaboration with Beşiktaş further by including new blockchain projects.”
Scottish Premiership club Rangers FC also announced the signing of a cryptocurrency sponsor today, forging a partnership with Bitci Technology .
Bitci Technology will create a Rangers fan token digital coin as part of its role as the club’s ‘Official Fan Token Partner.’ This is similar to the agreements Socios.com has struck with many football clubs, all of which included the use of cryptocurrency for fan engagement.
The deal will last until the end of the 2022-23 season, and will see the company sponsor the shorts of the Glasgow-based club’s first team.
“We’ve carefully observed several high-profile European clubs that have carved out valuable opportunities in this space and firmly believe, with Bitci Technology as partners, the potential for Rangers and our supporters is significant,” said James Bisgrove, Director of Commercial and Marketing at Rangers FC.
