Kraken Lands Sponsorship Deal With Williams Racing Despite U.S. Regulatory Crackdown

Formula 1 team Williams Racing signed U.S. crypto exchange Kraken as a sponsor after losing one of its most prominent drivers, Nicholas Latifi, who reportedly brought in a large amount of sponsorship fees.

Kraken’s logo will be displayed on the team’s race cars and there will also be a non-fungible token (NFT) experience, the companies said Tuesday.

The partnership comes as U.S.-based crypto exchanges face not just ongoing scrutiny from traders but also accelerating regulatory actions after the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange and three banks that had links to the industry.

Last month Kraken was forced to shut its staking-as-a-service platform for U.S. customers and pay a $30 million fine to settle charges from the Securities and Exchanges Commission, which sued the exchange for offering unregistered securities. Other exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, are also grappling with investigations by U.S. regulators.

While crypto sponsorships and partnerships slowed toward the end of 2022, roiled by the so-called crypto winter, some exchanges have nevertheless landed new partnerships. In January, Coinbase announced it became a premium partner of German soccer club Borussia Dortmund.