Do sports partnerships make cryptos more credible?

As cryptocurrencies sponsor more and more sports teams, events and athletes, new YouGov research in the United States and Great Britain reveals how much legitimacy these deals lend decentralized currencies.

According to a recent YouGov Direct poll, 11% of US adults think sports sponsorships make cryptocurrencies more credible, while a majority (58%) think such deals lend neither more nor less credence to these brands. But among sports fans, there is a tendency to attach more weight to these deals. NBA fans (16%) in the US are slightly more likely to believe sports partnerships make crypto brands more credible, compared to NHL fans (14%), NFL fans (13%) and MLB fans (11%).

Compared to other brand types, sports sponsorships are less likely to lend credibility to crypto brands. In general, 14% of Americans say sport sponsorships add credibility to a brand in generality, while 19% of Brits say so.

Overall, opinion in Great Britain is in line with America’s, with 12% believing sports sponsorships legitimize crypto brands. But again, among sports fans (who are, after all, the target audience here) there is a tendency to look more favorably at these deals. When looking at specific sport fans, Super League Rugby (18%) fans are most likely to agree, followed by Formula 1 fans (15%), Premiership Rugby fans (14%) and Premier League fans (14%).

Meanwhile, YouGov asked Americans and Brits which brand categories are appropriate sponsors. Brits say that tech brands (61%), travel brands (59%), telcos (55%), and tourism destinations (54%) are the most suitable partners for sports, while most Americans think travel brands (62%) and auto makers (56%) are the best fits.

Cryptocurrencies appear last on our list, but Americans (14%) are significantly more likely than Brits (8%) to say they’re good sport sponsors.

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Methodology: YouGov polled 1,200 US adults online on October 5, 2021, between 1:04 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, political affiliation, and ethnicity. Results are nationally representative of adults in the United States. The margin of error is 2.8% for the overall sample. YouGov polled 1,200 British adults online on October 5, 2021 between 9:03 p.m. and 10:12 p.m. BST. The survey was carried out through YouGov Direct. Data is weighted by age, gender, education level, region, and social grade. Results are nationally representative of adults in Great Britain. The margin of error is 4.9% for the overall sample. Learn more about YouGov Direct.

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