Crypto exchange Crypto.com has teamed up with the Lebron James Family Foundation to bring Web3 education to the star athlete’s hometown of Akron, Ohio.
The multi-year deal, the terms of which were not disclosed, means that Crypto.com will not only financially support the foundation’s I PROMISE program, it will also develop Web3-specific content for students who want to get a head start on the nascent blockchain industry.
“Blockchain technology is revolutionizing our economy, sports and entertainment, the art world, and how we engage with one another. I want to ensure that communities like the one I come from are not left behind,” James said in a statement.
The foundation currently invests in over 1,600 disadvantaged students in the Akron area, and provides them with training, resources, and mentoring to help raise the city’s high school graduation rates.
About 1,100 of the foundation’s students are enrolled in the I PROMISE program, which provides a class of third-grade students with tips on topics relating to personal health, motivation, and socializing, and academics.
Is Crypto.com a Lakers fan?
This isn’t the first time James’s world collided with Crypto.com.
Back in November, the exchange paid $700 million for the naming rights to Lakers’ home arena, the Staples Center, for twenty years. The stadium is now called the Crypto.com Arena.
The sum dwarfed rival exchange FTX’s $135 million deal struck last summer for naming rights to Miami Heat’s arena for 19 years. Today, it’s called the FTX Arena.
Crypto.com’s native coin (CRO) jumped 30% and set an all-time high the day of the Lakers arena deal. It carried on rising for a week, and set a new watermark of $0.97 on November 24, 2021.
Today, the coin is down nearly 60% from its all-time high amid a bearish start for cryptocurrencies in the new year.