• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, October 20, 2021

Coinbase Global, Inc. (Coinbase) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a multiyear partnership that makes Coinbase the exclusive cryptocurrency platform partner of the NBA, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), NBA G League, NBA 2K League and USA Basketball.  

The agreement was negotiated by GroupM’s Wavemaker which picked up media AOR duties for the publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange in June. The agency recently led talks to have Coinbase sponsor a series of big music festivals this fall.

The NBA deal, which marks the first cryptocurrency platform partnership for each league, will consist of unique content, innovations, activations and experiences from Coinbase to educate fans on the increasing advancements happening across the crypto-economy.  Beginning with this week’s tip off of the NBA’s 75^th Anniversary season, Coinbase will have a brand presence featured during nationally televised games. Games are televised on ESPN, TNT and other outlets.

Coinbase will also become the presenting partner of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup and the USA Basketball men’s and women’s national team exhibition tours, as well as a partner of NBA G League Ignite.

“The freedom to participate and benefit from the things you believe in is at the heart of Coinbase’s mission.  Nobody believes this more than NBA and WNBA fans,” said Kate Rouch, Chief Marketing Officer of Coinbase.  “As part of the partnership, we will create interactive experiences to engage with the NBA and WNBA’s incredible community and athletes around the world.”

“Our partnership with Coinbase is representative of the WNBA’s emphasis on innovation as we continue to find opportunities to meet our fans where they are,” said Phil Cook, WNBA Chief Marketing Officer.  “As we build off the success of the WNBA’s first 25 seasons, innovating alongside Coinbase will help us explore the future of fan engagement.”