Upbit is the new Back-of-Shirt Sponsor of Italian football club Napoli SSC
- Upbit will be Napoli SSC’s official Back-of-Shirt Partner and Global Crypto-Exchange Partner for 2022/23 and 2023/24 in all Serie A, Coppa Italia and friendly matches.
- The South Korean exchange’s parent firm, Dunamu, struck a deal with the Italian football club.
- Napoli are the current Serie A leaders, remaining undefeated at home throughout the 2022–23 season.
In the prevailing crypto bear market, partnerships and acquisitions have become rare, while almost all crypto exchanges have halted marketing campaigns and sponsorship deals. Crypto advertisements are also being met with increased resistance from regulators. Nevertheless, South Korean exchange Upbit has announced a sponsorship deal with Italian football club Napoli SSC.
According to a report from local media, the parent company of the biggest exchange in South Korea, Upbit, Dunamu, has struck a deal with Napoli SSC. Dunamu is a fintech firm that is one of the highest-valued startups in South Korea, a region that aims to become a hub of crypto activities.
Napoli SSC confirmed the sponsorship deal with Upbit and stated that the exchange will be “the club’s official Back-of-Shirt Partner and Global Crypto-Exchange Partner for 2022/23 and 2023/24 in all Serie A, Coppa Italia and friendly matches.This will come into play for the team’s next Serie A fixture on Wednesday, January 4 against Inter.”
Tommaso Bianchini, Chief International Development Officer of SSC Napoli, commented:
“This partnership enshrines the union of two game-changers in their respective sectors, underlining the objective of a future vision where innovation and technology are at the heart of the project. This agreement once again confirms that the club has an eye on international markets and on the most advanced technologies, in a process of continuous improvement of our brand globally.”
On the other hand, Sirgoo Lee, CEO of Dunamu, stated that his fintech firm is “thrilled to be a part of the journey together with SSC Napoli, including star defender Kim Min-jae.” Lee also stated that the two entities will work on additional collaborations during the season, which could very well include Upbit.
At the heart of the Napoli SSC team is center-back Kim Min-jae, who made his debut in August and was named Serie A Player of the Month for September. Thereafter, he successfully scored two goals in his first few weeks, making him already the second-highest scoring Korean ever to play in the top Italian league.
Napoli are the current Serie A leaders, remaining undefeated at home throughout the 2022–23 season. Meanwhile, Upbit is the leading exchange in the region and a part of the Digital Asset eXchange Alliance (DAXA), which also includes Bithumb, Coineone, Korbit, and Gopax. The objective of the DAXA is to draw up shared guidelines on investor protection.
Recently, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, Binance, completed due diligence on the acquisition of Gopax and is now set to re-enter the South Korean market. “Binance will buy a stake (41.2% stake) from CEO Lee Jun-haeng, the largest shareholder of Gopax,” a report said.
It is also crucial to note that prior to its collapse in early 2022, the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX was set to acquire a South Korean exchange Bithumb. However, a few months later, FTX founder, Sam Bankman-Fried, is facing criminal charges and is out on a $250 million bail bond.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
