Kraken, in partnership with British Formula One team Williams Racing, is crowdsourcing non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to be placed on the back of the team’s cars competing in the U.S. Grand Prix this October. Starting August 1, any NFT holder whose asset is listed on Kraken’s native NFT marketplace will be eligible to submit their token before the contest closes on August 18. Lou Frangella, Head of Brand Partnerships at Kraken, said, NFTs are an essential part of the cryptocurrency ecosystem, and I think they represent many different things – they are ownership for some people, and there are very engaged communities in a lot of cases. Whenever we have the opportunity to lift up the crypto community, we want to use our platform to be able to do that.
Williams and Kraken will then select the top 20 entries, putting them up for a community vote from August 28 to 31. The four most popular NFTs, as well as two NFTs selected by Williams team drivers Alex Albon and Logan Sargeant, will be displayed on the car during the Austin-based Grand Prix on October 22. This is not the first time crypto sponsorships have been seen in the luxury sport of F1. Red Bull’s racing team signed a $150 million partnership with crypto exchange Bybit in February 2022, and Sui blockchain also signed a multiyear deal with Red Bull.
Kraken’s partnership with Williams Racing is aimed at bringing crypto educational experiences to F1 fans across the globe. Frangella said, We’re just continuing to use our partnership as a way to properly educate and be a resource for people – not just F1 fans, but anyone that the sport crosses paths with, whether you’re a Williams fan or not, to propel our mission.