Formula 1's Latest Crypto Interests

As the crypto adoption rate increases globally and the buzz around the crypto industry grows, we’re seeing a lot of industries starting to incorporate the crypto industry in various forms ranging from marketing to logistics and security. One industry that particularly sticks out in this regard is the global sports industry. It’s becoming more and more popular for major sporting brands and sportspeople to partner with crypto firms and incorporate crypto for various reasons.

With the use of crypto, and particularly the use of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) snowballing in the sporting industry, more and more sports are implementing NFTs in various ways. We’ve already seen Crypto exchange giant, Binance collaborate with Società Sportiva Lazio to launch NFT tickets for all of the club’s home matches after major issues with counterfeit tickets at the EUFA Champions League final.

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Now, global motorsports giant, Formula 1, is looking to follow suit. Formula One has been a major advertising platform for various cryptocurrency exchanges over the past few years. Crypto.com’s branding has been prominently visible on the track advertising boards worldwide for the past year after becoming a global partner of Formula 1.

The Formula 1 industry is worth approximately $2 billion with an impressive following of around 445 million viewers globally. We’ve already seen the sport collaborate with crypto firms, with eight out of the ten Formula 1 teams in some way affiliated with either one or more crypto firms – Haas and Williams being the two exceptions. Alfa Romeo has partnered with both crypto lender, Vauld and meme cryptocurrency Floki.

Red Bull Racing has partnerships with cryptocurrency exchange, ByBit and open-source blockchain, Tesoz, which they share with the McLaren team. The most significant shared partnership is that of Formula 1 and British team, Aston Martin who both have deals with Crypto.com. Now, cryptocurrency is likely to play a much more integral part in Formula 1 as it aims to introduce NFT digital collectables and cryptocurrency payment support ahead of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix in 2023.

The Formula 1 trademark department has registered two additional trademark filings with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ahead of the 2023 season. These filings outline the trademark and logo for the Las Vegas Strip Circuit and an extensive list of goods and services that the event intends to offer during next year’s race weekend. Of particular interest are the specific mentions of NFT and cryptocurrency-related offerings as well as blockchain-powered transactional services.

The filing includes NFTs that will represent ownership of an array of real-world items, including vehicle equipment, decorative items, fashion and even “perfumery”. The filing also notes “downloadable computer software for managing cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology” – potentially suggesting that the race organizers are gearing up to introduce cryptocurrency payments, following in the footsteps of other major sporting industries.

This is further emphasized by another clause that describes financial goods and services covering the breadth of cryptocurrency and blockchain-based payment systems noting “financial services including e-wallets and cryptocurrency; electronic transfer of crypto assets; currency exchange services; currency trading; virtual currency services; electronic funds transfer provided via blockchain technology; financial transactions via blockchain; cryptocurrency services, namely, providing a digital currency or digital token for use via a global computer network; provision of tokens; provision of non-fungible tokens”- Bitcode Method. The provision of cryptography software is also present, with both filings listing downloadable software for processing cryptocurrency transactions using blockchain technology.

That leaves a little over a year until we see NFTs integrated more extensively into the motorsport industry, taking the collaboration between Formula 1 and the crypto industry to the next level.