Follow NBA, FIFA or MMA? You may find these faces familiar. Here are 16 professional athletes who are into crypto. We have found interesting trivia about their journey in this space!
1. Floyd Mayweather – Boxing
Undefeated professional boxer “Money” Mayweather has a social media reputation for flaunting his wealth. He eventually became an ambassador of the crypto project Stox (STX). He also joined music producer DJ Khaled in endorsing the Centra Tech (CTR) project. Unfortunately, both projects are scams.
2. Serena Williams – Tennis
Even if you don’t play tennis, you would probably still have heard of Serena Williams because of her Grand Slams. She recently revealed the launch of her new VC firm Serena Ventures on Instagram. She invested in businesses such as a cryptocurrency exchange, and other startups in areas such as fitness and fashion.
3. Lionel Messi – Football
FC Barcelona football star Lionel Messi collaborated with Sirin Labs to promote an upcoming mobile phone named Finney. (Hal Finney received the first bitcoin transaction from bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto!) Messi wrote on Facebook that he was excited to make blockchain more friendly with their upcoming operating system for smartphones.
4. Mike Tyson – Boxing
Boxing legend Mike Tyson marked the first celebrity sponsored crypto product, with the launch of his Mike Tyson bitcoin ATMs back in 2015. The marketing pitch read “Mike Tyson’s fastest knock out in the ring was 30 seconds. The Mike Tyson Bitcoin ATM can turn your cash into bitcoin in under 20 seconds.”
5. Didier Drogba – Football
Former striker and captain of the Ivory Coast national team, Didier Drogba, became an ambassador for a crypto based social networking platform All.me. To show his unfaltering devotion to this project, he even wore a shirt with the project logo. He promises to share its revenue with its users.
6. Ronaldinho – Football
The former Brazilian professional footballer is an athlete who capitalized on his personal brand to get into crypto. He launched his own cryptocurrency known as Ronaldinho Soccer Coin (RSC). This project vows to become the “common currency of the soccer world”. The team aims to do this by offering a platform for betting, e-commerce and digital stadiums.
7. Dennis Rodman – Basketball
He is an American retired professional basketball player. He was nicknamed “The Worm” for his famous defence and rebounding tactics. He headed to Singapore in 2018 for the Trump-Kim summit, wearing a Potcoin shirt. Because of this, the marijuana-themed crypto received much notice.
8. Evander Holyfield – Boxing
Legendary boxer Evander Holyfield is the only boxer in history to win the undisputed championship in 2 weight classes. He became part of one of the biggest ICO scams in 2018, after collaborating with and promoting AriseBank. The company hid information and lied about client relationships, and therefore was shut down by the US SEC.
9. Richard Sherman – American football
Richard Kevin Sherman is an American football cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Sherman’s online store has been accepting bitcoin payments since December 2013. He called it the “currency of the future”, and mentioned that he wanted to support the increasing number of fans who wanted to pay through this medium.
10. Lothar Matthaus – Football
Currently a German football manager, former player Lothar Matthaus was named the first ever FIFA player of the year. He started involving himself in crypto through TokenStars, a blockchain company which tokenizes celebrities. It also provides a platform to connect stars with fans and advertisers directly.
11. Spencer Dinwiddie – Basketball
The Brooklyn Nets player first bought bitcoin in the summer of 2017. During the NBA fall season of the same year, he was obsessed with keeping tabs on his investment. Before games, he would constantly check on the price of bitcoin in the locker room while other players were getting ready.
12. Luis Figo – Football
Retired Portuguese professional footballer Luis Figo used to be the original captain and owner of Portuguese #7, before Christiano Ronaldo did. He also hopped onto the crypto bandwagon together with a group of retired athletes. Now, he is Stryking Entertainment’s new brand ambassador for their ICO. It seeks to tokenize fantasy sports.
13. Manny Pacquaio – Boxing
Philippine boxer Manny Pacquaio is an eight-time world champ, who joined politics as a senator in 2016. He stepped foot into the crypto industry by launching his own digital money, PAC coin. The token will be listed on Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX), an exchange he invested in.
14. Michael Owen – Football
In 2013, Michael Owen announced that he would retire from football. The former English footballer played as a striker for Liverpool, Real Madrid, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Stoke City, as well as for the England national team. Just like professional boxer Manny Pacquiao, Owen created his own coin, the “Owen Coin”.
15. James Rodriguez – Football
Currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Colombia national team. Recently, he announced his own token JR10, in partnership with SelfSell. Rodriguez mentioned that the initiative was designed to help him establish new types of relationships with his supporters.
We hope you enjoyed this list of pro athletes who are into crypto! Each of these stars draws the attention of their fans into our industry.
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