FTX Exchange lands deal to sponsor Miami Heat Arena

FTX may be the very first digital currency exchange to sponsor a sports arena. The FTX exchange has allegedly reached a $135 million deal that gives them the right to sponsor and rename the Miami Heat Arena. The terms of the deal have been solidified, and now all the deal needs is legislative approval. The Miami-Dade County Commission has scheduled a meeting for Friday, March 26th to vote on the matter. 

If the deal is approved, the Miami Heat Arena, which was formerly known as American Airlines Arena and sponsored by American Airlines for the past 20 years, will be renamed ‘FTX Arena’. The FTX Arena would be the very first instance of an NBA arena being sponsored by a digital currency company.

FTX is a digital currency exchange based in both Hong Kong and the United States. The exchange was created by the notorious Sam Bankman-Fried. Bankman-Fried is a pioneer in the digital currency industry and his FTX exchange was the first digital currency exchange to offer tokenized stock trading. 

Miami and the digital currency industry

FTX’s deal with the Miami Heat Arena comes at a time when the city of Miami is looking to further embrace the blockchain and digital currency industry. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, says that he wants Miami to be a hub for digital currency innovation. “We want to be on the next wave of innovation,” said Suarez. 

Suarez recently proposed that Miami should pay municipal workers and accept tax payments in digital currency. Although the proposal has not been approved yet, city officials said they would study up on the matter.

Suarez is trying to rebrand Miami into a blockchain and digital currency innovation epicenter. He is hoping that individuals relocating from some of the tech hubs hit hard by coronavirus like San Francisco and New York will relocate to Miami. 

It is not yet clear if individuals are making the move to Miami from these tech hubs, but it is clear that Miami is making an effort to fulfill its vision of being the innovation epicenter for the digital currency industry. If the FTX Arena deal is approved when the commission votes on it this Friday, that will bring Miami one step closer to being the innovation hub it aims to be.