While crypto companies had a large presence during the F1 Grand Prix of Miami, their visibility in Singapore will be significantly less.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore will only allow F1 teams to display their crypto sponsors’ logos on cars and uniforms during the Singapore Grand Prix. As a result, no advertising is allowed around the circuit or in the environment for crypto parties.
These rules confirm the changing mood surrounding crypto, both from a regulatory standpoint and financially. For example, jurisdictions in several countries worldwide such as Singapore, the UK and France have tightened controls on the sector this year after digital asset prices crashed, several billion-dollar projects collapsed and major market players went bankrupt. As a result, F1’s advertisers are finding new ways to make their mark.
The market crash has meant that crypto parties may now be a little more thorough and thoughtful about the deals they make. This is the opinion of Jeremy Walls, a senior executive for the Miami location who helped close the deal with Crypto.com. He added the following:
I still see people doing crypto partnerships now, it may not be the pace it used to be.
Crypto & F1 Status Symbol
It has become more of a status symbol for crypto companies to partner with an F1 team. These are often multi-million dollar contracts that signal prosperity and success at a time when market prices reflect the opposite.
Crypto companies also seem to be catching on with F1 teams, as about 80% of current F1 teams already have at least 1 crypto partner. This is in addition to the Formula One Group itself, which has a $100 million deal with Crypto.com.
According to McLaren head Zak Brown, this is because F1 teams don’t want to be left behind when a new sponsor or trend emerges. The McLaren F1 team itself signed a 5-year deal worth several hundred million dollars with crypto exchange OKX last May. Finally, they plan to debut a special crypto-themed car for the Singapore and Japan circuits, in line with stricter advertising guidelines.