The Tampa Bay Lightning may be Stanley Cup champions for the second season in a row, but it just might be the Montreal Canadiens who are the hottest commodity in the National Hockey League. Crypto.com certainly seems to think that to be the case.
The Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency trading platform recently announced a one-year partnership deal with the Canadiens. While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the storied hockey franchise did confirm that this is the first sponsorship package the club has ever engaged in with a cryptocurrency agency of any kind.
After a fourth-place finish in the North Division in the 2021 NHL standings, the Canadiens defied the Stanley Cup odds at the top online NHL betting sites by making a playoff run all the way to the Stanley Cup final. The defending champion Lightning ended Montreal’s dream season. Tampa Bay ousted Montreal in five games in the best-of-seven final series.
Storied franchise
Founded in 1909, the Canadiens won their first of a record 24 Stanley Cup titles in 1915-16, more than a year prior to the birth of the NHL. The Canadiens are the only founding member of the NHL that has been an ever-present in the league and has never undergone a name change from Day 1.
“In everything we do, we seek to establish partnerships with organizations who are leaders in their field,” Crypto.com co-founder and CEO Kris Marszalek told Forbes.com.
Founded in 2016, Crypto.com is the world’s fastest growing cryptocurrency app. Between October 2020 and February of 2021, the company’s customer base increased from five million users to in excess of 10 million. Billing itself as “the world’s fastest growing crypto app, a key component to all of Crypto.com’s deals with sports franchises and organizations is to create growth opportunities for their mobile app.
“Our publicly stated goal is to reach 100 million users by the end of next year, and we’re confident we’ll reach it,” Marszalek said.
Deal with IIHF
The pact with the Canadiens is just one of two deals that Crypto.com has engineered recently with major players in the ice hockey industry. The company entered into a two-year sponsorship deal with the International Ice Hockey Federation to become the official cryptocurrency and NFT sponsor of the IIHF World Championship. The deal began with the 2021 world tourney in Riga, Latvia.
“The partnership was signed between Crypto.com and Infront Sports & Media, the official marketing partner for the IIHF World Championship,” International Ice Hockey Federation president Rene Fasel told Forbes. “The IIHF has enjoyed a strong and fruitful partnership with Infront that has seen the federation expand its reach into digital media and really bring the World Championship into the 21st century.
“We were not surprised when Infront came to us with this proposal. They are really forward-thinking and trying to find the next ‘big thing’ in sports marketing and technology. I believe they have also found a very strong partner with Crypto.com and we look forward to initiating this venture together.”
The partnership is including Crypto.com branding at the next two World Championship events. There’s also been the release of a series of non-fungible tokens (NFT) collectibles featuring some of the greatest moments in IIHF history, available exclusively at Crypto.com/NFT.
Crypto.com also involved in Formula One
Crypto.com has also entered a sponsorship deal with the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula 1 team. Aston Martin returned to F1 this season after a 60-year absence. Over the course of the multi-year deal, the brands will collaborate to bring exclusive experiences and opportunities to traders and fans of the sport.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Aston Martin as they return to Grand Prix racing, especially as the first cryptocurrency platform to be sponsoring an F1 team,” Marszalek said.
Sebastien Vettel and Lance Stroll are the drivers for the Aston Martin F1 team.
“I am very impressed by the vision of the Crypto.com management and the tremendous speed at which their platform is growing,” said Lawrence Stroll, Chairman of the Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One team. I am sure this partnership will bring a fresh perspective to both our businesses and introduce both brands to new audiences. We are proud of our heritage, but as this deal shows we are also a very modern team.”