In the FTX (PR42 profile) crash, the crypto market has been in a state of shock. Celebrities such as the U.S. football star Tom Brady are among those affected. Slowly, the full extent of the FTX crash is becoming visible. Sam Bankman-Fried‘s crypto exchange had signed big-name investors and promotional deals, including Brady and his ex-wife, the Victoria-Secret model Gisele Bündchen, and NBA legend Stephen Curry. Not just promote faces, but also capital providers such as BlackRock and Kraken are among the losers of the FTX crisis.
The Celebrities & The Crypto King
In 2020, football star Tom Brady and his now ex-wife, Gisele Bündchen, formed a partnership with FTX. The seven-time Super Bowl winner became a brand ambassador for FTX, while Bündchen became a consultant for environmental and social initiatives.
In addition to Bitcoin, they received equity stakes in the company as part of the deal. It is not known how many shares they held in the company. The deal was part of large-scale advertising deals in the sports sector. FTX invested several hundred million US dollars in partnerships, 135 million just for the naming rights to a stadium in Miami.
Also basketball player Stephen Curry was part of the professional sports marketing strategy. The NBA star received an unquantified equity stake in the crypto exchange as an FTX ambassador.
“I’m excited to be working with a company that is demystifying the crypto space and removing the intimidation factor for first-time users,” – were his words at the time.
It will take a lot of time before these celebrities forget their FTX disaster and are ready to stand up for Crypto again. Sam Bankman-Fried has presented himself as a public and political figure and has been the poster boy for many outside the crypto scene, the Crypto King as he has been dubbed. This addiction to publicity and celebrities will now backfire on the entire crypto scene.
Investors & Partners
The FTX collapse also causes millions in losses to well-known hedge fund BlackRock. In October 2021, FTX, which was valued at $25 billion at the time, raised $420 million from 69 investors. BlackRock was one of them, along with Temasek, Tiger Global, and Ribbit Capital.
Crypto exchange Kraken disclosed holding “approximately 9,000 FTT tokens on the FTX exchange.” FTT, however, was not listed on either the spot or futures exchange. Kraken was “in no way affected” by the FTX disaster.
What is certain is that in the next months and years, investors will be much more cautious about crypto projects. This will damage many startups that may not find funding despite good concepts and products. You will thank Sam Bankman-Fried very much.
If that was just the beginning remains to be seen!
