Mercedes suspends its partnership with FTX

In September 2021, Mercedes and FTX had signed a multi-year partnership agreement. Today, the cryptocurrency platform is facing a black hole of eight billion euros and is on the brink of bankruptcy.

Subject to an investigation by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for alleged abusive use of client deposits, the platform hopes to resurface. However, its chances are slim. The CEO of FTX is also under investigation by the same agency for illegal practices. If the difficulties endured are the cause of the overall market collapse, the value of almost all cryptocurrencies has plummeted.

There was a solution, which was the takeover of the company by its competitor Binance (sponsor of Alpine), but this will not happen. If on Thursday there was no mention of removing the logo from the cars, the situation quickly changed overnight and Mercedes will ultimately be forced to do so from the first free practice sessions in Interlagos.

« In the first instance, we have suspended our partnership agreement with FTX, the team said to Autosport this morning. This means that the company will no longer appear on our race car or other assets of our brand starting this weekend. We will continue to closely monitor the situation.

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In recent years, partnerships agreements with cryptocurrency platforms have multiplied. Haas and Aston Martin unveiled their new sponsorships with such companies last week. Toto Wolff himself supported this choice, saying: “You cannot shut yourself off from modern technology. It is definitely a field that will develop.”

During the Miami Grand Prix, FTX organized a Mercedes car demonstration called Off Grid, which took place on South Beach. But cryptocurrency companies are not only investing in Formula 1. The Miami Heat stadium has been renamed FTX Arena. The contract was concluded for a sum of 135 million euros and runs until 2040.