FTX Trading Limited, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, had signed a global partnership with the International Cricket Council (ICC), the governing body of cricket, as an official cryptocurrency exchange partner for ICC events in October. But after the collapse and bankruptcy declaration of FTX on Friday, the logo of the company has been taken down from the post-match presentation background stands that sport the sponsors logo, Dugouts and boundary triangles.
England vs Pakistan ICC Men's T20 World Cup, Australia 2022 Tweeted by ESPN Jurnalist- Peter Della Penna | Twitter - Peter Della Penna
The logos were visible during the semifinals that took place on Thursday and the matches that were played earlier, but the logo seems to be missing today.
FTX and ICC global partnership
ICC in a media release said that FTX will be partnering ICC events beginning with the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which ended today and the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup that will be hosted by India in 2023. The partnership included both Men's and Women's Cricket T20 World Cups, Men's Under 19 Cricket World Cup and Men's Cricket World Cup Qualifier. Whether the ICC will continue with this partnership or not is yet to be cleared by the ICC.
FURIA cancels FTX Sponsorship
ICC is not the only company that wants to stay clear of FTX. Brazilian esports organisation FURIA has also cancelled their sponsorship deal with FTX.
Andre Akkari, co-founder of FURIA through a tweet said, "FURIA closely monitors the activities of all its partners, always attentive to the possibility of being able to contribute with them, but prioritizing our supporters, our fans! The current case of our sponsor crypto exchange, which is in the global news, serves as an example.
After a conversation with our contacts at the company, it was decided that FURIA will discontinue the FTX exhibition, removing the brand from all its spaces. The goal is to prevent the current phase of the company from harming any fan. FURIA continues to value our strong partners and promote them, however, always prioritizing our fans at any cost."
Statement by Andre Akkari, co-founder of FURIA | Twit Longer
The sponsorship deal was signed in April and was valued at approximately $3.2 million. The FTX logo has already been taken down from the team jersey of the organisation that has entered the IEM RIo Major 2022.
FTX and other sports deals
FTX had signed a 10 year deal with TSM in 2021 that was valued at approximately $210 million. This was one of the biggest deals in esports history. The company in a Tweet said that they are consulting the best way forward with their legal team.
FTX also has signed deals with Riot games and League of Legends Championship. They own the stadium naming rights on NBA team Miami HEAT and have a deal with Major League Baseball. They have also signed endorsement deals with Tom Brady, Stephen Curry and other celebrity sports and entertainment celebrities.
FTX in trouble
The company's troubles began when Coindesk showed leaked documents that claimed that FTX faces insolvency, and it was later found that it may not have cash to back up investor funds.
Its rival Chinese billionaire and rival crypto exchange founder Changpeng Zhao first announced that it will sell all its holdings in FTT, which is the native crypto coin issued by FTX, but later moved to acquire the exchange.
This led to an 80 per cent slump in value for FTT, which wiped out $2 billion and then SBF lost 94 per cent of his wealth.
As of now Bankman-Fried is worth barely $1 billion, while Binance has backed out of the acquisition saying that FTX is beyond rescuing. According to reports, $1 billion of client funds are missing from FTX, and $10 billion were transferred secretly from the exchange to Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research. This indicates the possibility of a scam. This is one of the major reasons for organizations to steer clear from FTX.
