Osaka signed a long-term deal with crypto trading firm FTX to become the platform’s latest ambassador. The focus is on appealing to women and “further democratizing the space.”
The ongoing dwindling prices for the major cryptocurrencies haven’t stopped the leading crypto trading firms from seeking sports celebrity endorsements to coax people to sign on and invest. Tennis superstar Naomi Osaka becomes the latest crypto ambassador inking a deal with crypto exchange FTX.
The four-time Grand Slam winner signed a long-term partnership agreement with FTX, as part of which Osaka will be focused on bringing women onto its crypto platform and will play an active role in directing and producing content. As per the deal, she will wear the company’s logo during her competitions, beginning with the Miami Open this week. Osaka explained:
“Cryptocurrencies started with the goal of being accessible to everyone and breaking down barriers to entry. I’m excited to partner with FTX to get back to that mission and innovate on new ways to reach more people and democratize the space.”
Focus on bringing women onto the platform and into the future of Web3
What makes the latest celebrity deal unique is the fact that FTX and Osaka are hoping to reach young women. The firm said that Osaka would produce content that “will focus on bringing women onto the platform and into the future of Web3.” Osaka will receive an equity stake in FTX Trading and be paid in crypto as part of the partnership. The company said in a statement:
“We have seen the statistics about how few women are part of crypto by comparison, which kind of mirrors the inequality we see in other financial markets.”
Osaka’s deal is the first one explicitly targeting women
For a long time now, cryptocurrency firms have focused on celebrity ambassadors, and advertising campaigns focused on men or w general broad audience. FTX has in the past used Larry David in its Super Bowl advert besides signing Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen as brand ambassadors. Brady took the lead in advertising while Matt Damon led an advert for Crypto.com. Osaka’s deal is a game-changer as it’s the first one explicitly targeting women.
This will be significant because women make up less of the crypto space than men. The statistics are skewed towards men whether you’re looking at conference speakers, crypto company founders, or NFT artists.
For example, women account for under 5% of all crypto company founders, according to one 2021 survey of 121 founders. Female artists also accounted for only 5% of all NFT artists, according to a survey published by Art Tactic in November 2021. And while 92% of women report having heard of crypto, only 24% report owning it.