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FTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges, is following its extravagant expenditures in the sporting world with a foray into the music festival scene, announcing today a partnership with the colossal Belgian techno-festival Tomorrowland.
Through its newly-launched European affiliate, FTX Europe will work with Tomorrowland, a popular music festival founded in 2005 which attracts over 400,000 participants in a given year, to platform Web3 artists.
The tie-up will see the duo rollout crypto-enabled ticketing options and Tomorrowland-related digital assets, a press release said Thursday.
“It’s exciting to see the continued blending of crypto, music, and events,” said FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried in a prepared statement. “We’re also aligned in our shared belief that community, accessibility, transparency and sustainability are the leading factors for a better Tomorrow.”
FTX’s Tomorrowland partnership will begin in earnest at Tomorrowland’s Winter Festival on March 19. It will feature an event called The Quest, allowing festival-goers to collect 1,500 NFTs out of a planned 6,500 in locations scattered around the French alps, where the festival is held.
Each day 250 winners will be rewarded with “exclusive events,” according to today’s announcement.
Michiel Beers, one of the Belgian brothers who founded Tomorrowland, said the partnership was a natural fit for the festival’s ethos.
“Since day one,” he said in a prepared statement, “it’s within the DNA of Tomorrowland to never stop pushing the boundaries of creativity and innovation, to create the most unique experiences and important moments for our global community.”
FTX sponsorship spree
The partnership marks another milestone in a spending spree begun last year, which saw the crypto exchange spend millions on sponsorship deals.
As well as putting its logo on jerseys and billboards, the exchange produced a Super Bowl ad featuring Curb Your Enthusiasm showrunner Larry David and slapped its name on the Miami Heat’s home stadium in Florida, formerly owned by American Airlines.
The competition is also keeping tabs on FTX’s sponsorship plays.
Crypto.com, for example, paid a reported $700 million for the naming rights of the Lakers and Clippers Arena in Los Angeles. Crypto exchange OKX also struck a deal with the English Premier League’s Manchester City in early March.