Football Dominates Crypto Cash Flow With 43% of $243M in Sponsorships

Football has once again proven that no other sport matches its global pull, even in the volatile world of crypto. According to new data from Sport Quake, football attracted 43% of all crypto and digital-asset sponsorships during the 2024/25 season, worth a massive $243 million. That’s a 64% jump in spending from the previous year, confirming that crypto companies are betting big on the world’s most-watched game.

The Crypto Comeback

After a bruising few years that saw collapses like FTX and TerraLuna freeze confidence, crypto firms are rebuilding, and they’re using football to do it. The sport’s global reach and unmatched fan loyalty make it the ideal launchpad for a sector eager to regain trust and visibility.

Since the start of the 2024/25 season, 20 new crypto deals have been signed, valued at around $130 million annually. The biggest headlines include Kraken’s sleeve sponsorship with Tottenham Hotspur, Bitpanda’s new deal with Paris Saint-Germain, and the groundbreaking Crypto.com partnership with UEFA, the first time a crypto firm has ever sponsored the Champions League.

That renewed confidence extends beyond sponsorships and into fan behavior. Supporters are showing more willingness to engage with crypto-linked platforms, particularly casino and betting sites. Many of these platforms use bonus with no deposit offers to attract new users, which allows fans to test digital payments in a familiar, no strings attached way.

Why Football?

Football’s value to crypto brands goes far beyond shirt logos. It’s about audience. Over 75% of Kraken’s core European users are already football fans, according to the company’s CMO, Mayur Gupta. For these firms, aligning with top clubs isn’t just advertising, it’s cultural positioning.

Around 35% of football’s crypto deals now involve shirt sponsorships, more than double last season’s share. Clubs have realised that crypto brands aren’t just passing trends; they’re long-term partners willing to pay premium rates for visibility.

Unsurprisingly, 44% of all crypto-football partnerships are found within Europe’s “Big Five” leagues, England, Germany, Spain, Italy, and France. These leagues dominate global broadcasting, and the Premier League’s expanding footprint across Asia and North America offers brands like Kraken a way to reach millions of potential new users overnight.

A Market Thawing After the Freeze

From 2022 to 2023, crypto endured what many called a “winter.” When major platforms collapsed, sponsorships dried up. Some clubs, including Inter Milan and AS Roma, even dropped partners like DigitalBits for failing to meet financial commitments.

But the frost is melting fast. Inter Milan, one of Italy’s most successful clubs, has already returned to the crypto fold with two new deals, one with Gate.io as sleeve sponsor and another with BlockDAG as its official blockchain partner.

As BlockDAG’s CEO Andy Turner put it, “Football touches over a billion lives. Its scale makes it the perfect gateway for crypto adoption.” In his view, this isn’t about hype cycles but about long-term brand integration. Football gives crypto companies credibility and reach that no other sport can match.

Formula 1 Speeds Up In Second Place

Still, football isn’t without challengers. Formula 1 claimed 28% of global crypto sponsorship spending, making it the second-largest recipient after football. In total, crypto companies paid $174 million to F1 teams this season, and that number is climbing.

Crypto.com renewed its partnership with F1, while Gate.io, Coinbase, and Zoomex entered the grid with teams like Red Bull, Aston Martin, and Haas. Across 24 Grand Prix races, crypto brands gained exposure to audiences spanning every continent, a key advantage in a sport that markets itself as both elite and borderless.

F1’s fan base also skews younger and more tech-savvy. Sport Quake’s report notes that 42% of F1 fans are under 35, and the sport commands 97 million social-media followers worldwide. That demographic overlap with crypto users is hard to ignore.

Both industries share a digital DNA: fast-moving, data-driven, and globally ambitious. While football thrives on passion, F1 thrives on precision, and for crypto companies, that makes it a natural secondary battleground.

Beyond Football

Outside football and F1, crypto deals are trickling into basketball, American football, tennis, and esports. Basketball took 18% of crypto sponsorships this year, thanks to its massive U.S. and Asian audiences. Esports, though smaller, continues to attract blockchain gaming partnerships seeking direct engagement with digital natives.

Each of these sports offers something different: basketball for its cultural reach, F1 for its prestige, esports for its technological edge. Yet football remains the anchor, the sport where the emotional connection runs deepest and the marketing payoff is most immediate.

Can Football Keep the Crown?

Football’s dominance isn’t guaranteed forever. Three major factors could reshape the balance in coming years:

1. Market saturation. So many crypto firms have entered football that future deals might deliver diminishing returns. Once every sleeve and shirt space is taken, exposure alone won’t cut it.
2. Fan skepticism. After the 2022–23 crashes, fans are more cautious about crypto branding. Clubs will need to vet partners carefully to avoid another PR hit.
3. Competition from faster-growing sports. If F1 keeps expanding into Asia and the U.S., or if basketball deepens its crypto partnerships, football’s share of sponsorship money could slip.

Still, the numbers speak for themselves. Football isn’t just leading the crypto-cash race, it’s defining how the industry rebuilds its image. By embedding crypto in matchdays, merchandise, and fan experiences, these partnerships go beyond promotion. They’re testing how digital assets can live inside the culture of sport itself.