| Bitcoin's up 50% year-to-date, crypto funds are raising cash again and industry trends like tokenization and prediction markets are now playing out in full force. Naturally, it follows that it's time for companies to start thinking about how to tap back into Main Street. Blockchain businesses like Crypto.com, Kraken, Bitpanda and Arkham Intelligence are among those that have signed new sponsorship deals in the world of English and European football this summer, taking the industry's spending on the sport to a record £130 million ($170 million) this season. As one of the world's most-watched sports, football (or soccer, if you prefer) has become a favorite route for reaching the masses, and at a much lower price than the sector is used to. If we cast our minds back to crypto's last heyday in 2021, businesses were spending on marketing and expansion with abandon. Companies targeted big-ticket deals that would often surpass $100 million a pop, like sponsoring a Formula One team or buying the naming rights to a major US stadium. Ultimately, the cost didn't matter — because on the other side, retail investors couldn't pile into crypto fast enough. But the subsequent market crash in 2022 taught companies that the gravy train can't last forever. Now as they look to repair the industry's reputation, crypto's latest endeavor into football suggests marketing executives may have learned a valuable lesson. Crypto deals in the Premier League this season have ranged from under £1 million to up to £30 million a year — far lower than the money required for a single sponsorship in other mainstream sports, like the NFL and Formula One. A cheaper entry point means companies can dip their toes into the water of sponsorship without a big bill, while also reserving the right to increase their spending in the future if the results prove worthwhile. "For exchanges, football's king," Matt House, CEO of sports sponsorship agency SportQuake, told me. His company has arranged deals for the likes of Stake, eToro and Rollbit in the past. When brands can afford it, "that's where they want to turn up first," he said. While undoing other areas of 2021's excess included simple (yet painful) solutions — like the over-hiring that resulted in waves of layoffs — shedding overzealous marketing deals is harder to do. The logo of Terraform Labs, whose algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD collapsed in mid-2022 to wreak havoc on the entire industry, still adorns the stadium of Major League Baseball's Washington Nationals. At least in football, high-risk sponsors are something that clubs are used to. Contracts with gambling companies often include boilerplate clauses around reputational damage and upfront payment, similar to those which crypto companies now receive. Soon, tougher regulation in the Premier League means betting companies will have to give up premium sponsorship slots beginning in mid-2026. That could create a perfect vacuum for crypto to fit into — that is, if it's still got the money by then. | 
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