Top Formula 1 crypto sponsors rally, racing fans gain from Binance Coin, OKB, ApeCoin and Crypto.com

The 2025 Formula 1 season kicked off in Australia last week with a lineup of crypto sponsors for half of the teams. Racing giants are powered by sponsors like crypto exchanges Binance, OKX, ApeCoin, and Crypto.com, among other NFT and trading platforms.  

Crypto.com (CRO) is a global partner of the Formula One Group, running until the end of 2030, while Red Bull Racing is backed by Gate.io, and Aston Martin is sponsored by one of the largest centralized crypto exchanges, Coinbase. 

McLaren is backed by OKX, while Binance and ApeCoin power Alpine. Ferrari has no crypto sponsors this season, and McLaren is still reeling from its association with bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. 

These crypto tokens benefit from the start of the 2025 Formula 1 racing season

Binance’s native token Binance Coin (BNB), OKX’s (OKB), ApeCoin (APE), Alchemy Pay (ACH) and Crypto.com (CRO) rally on Monday. The tokens gain between 1.5% and 5% on the day as traders digest the weekend races. 

While racing enthusiasts follow the developments this season, crypto traders benefit from the gain in token prices after the Bitcoin-led correction in the crypto market last week. 

Binance crossed 250 million registered users, according to its January 2025 report. With its presence this racing season, the exchange looks to drive further user adoption and registrations on its platform. 

The BNB token finds utility in fee payments and other functions across the trading platform, fueling a bullish case for growth in its demand. 

Crypto sponsorships in sporting events are on the rise

Amidst Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin push and the US’s embrace of pro-crypto regulation and policy, crypto sponsorships across sports like Football, Mixed Martial Arts, and Snooker are on the rise. 

While Super Bowl LIX 2025, one of the largest sporting events in the US, lacked crypto sponsorships, the latest announcements from exchanges and crypto protocols show a large number of partnerships inked between crypto companies and sports organizations. 

Marketing agency SportQuake reported 22 deals struck at an average value of $4.3 million so far in 2025, compared to 18 deals worth an average of $2.6 million over the same period last year. 

Key partnerships are stablecoin issuer Tether’s purchase of a minority stake in Juventus, an Italian football team, valued at nearly $50 million. Crypto exchange XBO.com recently assumed the role of official global sponsor of Argentina's national football team. 

Sportsbet.io's title deal with the Snooker's Players Championship and crypto casino Cloudbet’s multi-year partnership with Mixed Martial Arts (MMA)’s Professional Fighters League are the other notable developments this year.