| If you tuned into a Formula One race last year, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that crypto was still enjoying boom times. Sponsorship deals with blockchain companies, token issuers and digital-asset exchanges were abundant, even as the crypto winter grew colder. Cars and racetracks alike were splashed with some of the industry's biggest names, who had spent hundreds of millions of dollars collectively on one of the world's most popular (and expensive) sports. But as teams unveiled their 2023 cars at this season's debut race last weekend, a very different picture started to emerge. While all of the teams had at least one crypto sponsor last year, that figure is now down to 60% — and it looks likely to fall further. In short, F1 may be re-evaluating the wisdom of tying its fortunes so tightly to the industry that gave us the FTX scandal. Mercedes-AMG Petronas, one of the sport's most successful racing teams ever thanks to star driver Lewis Hamilton, is emblematic of crypto's fall from grace, thanks to its 2022 partnership with now-bankrupt FTX. Mercedes itself may have a claim in FTX's bankruptcy process, filings show, and going into 2023 it has no other crypto-native sponsors. But the connection is sticky: The latest season of Netflix's hit series Drive to Survive shows FTX logos plastered all over Mercedes's cars, uniforms and fan merchandise. Other teams are also parting ways with the sector. Alfa Romeo's new partner roster indicated its multiyear deal with troubled crypto lender Vauld and another tie-up with meme token Floki are over this year. Meanwhile blockchain network Tezos had already dropped its partnership with reigning world champions Red Bull at the end of 2022. Title contender Ferrari abruptly ended a long-term arrangement with Swiss blockchain outfit Velas in January, amid signs not all was going swimmingly. In response to questions about Velas, Ferrari said it doesn't comment on matters related to a dispute, litigation or both. As a result, Ferrari now has no crypto sponsors — putting it in the same bracket as Williams Racing, which ended a 10-month-old deal with metaverse platform Virtua, and AlphaTauri. That's not to say F1 has entirely shaken its crypto addiction. Red Bull's multiyear deal with exchange Bybit, reported a year ago as one of biggest deals ever signed in international sport, is still alive. Tezos's arrangement with British rival McLaren also remains in place. As one of the teams most visibly tied to crypto, McLaren told me last month that it's planning several new web3 initiatives this year. It's also started using digital advertisements on its cars, enabling it to rotate sponsor names every 45 seconds (a handy tool when advertisers are in flux). And some crypto players have chosen to stick it out in F1, including Binance, Crypto.com, OpenSea and fan-token issuer Socios. But someone has to pay the bills, and crypto isn't in any shape to write big checks right now. So unless the sector's fortunes improve soon, it's a safe bet that the cars, their drivers and the racetracks they battle on will keep scrubbing links to the once-hot industry. | 
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