简而言之 Ripple 与堪萨斯大学签署了一项体育营销协议，使 XRP 成为堪萨斯田径队的官方加密货币。 该交易将 XRP 标志放在该大学运动队球衣的显着位置。 该公司还将资助针对学生运动员的传统金融和数字资产教育项目。 Ripple 是一家支付公司，其创始人创建了 XRP 加密货币，该公司已与堪萨斯大学运动队签署了一项多年赞助协议，该协议将把 XRP 徽标印在所有堪萨斯运动队的球衣上。 作为协议的一部分，XRP 也成为堪萨斯田径队的官方加密货币。 堪萨斯大学体育部主任特拉维斯·戈夫在一份声明中表示：“这个大学体育时代需要创新、具有前瞻性的合作伙伴关系。” Goff 表示：“Ripple 认可 Jayhawk 社区的独特影响力和热情，我们很自豪他们选择 Kansas Athletics 作为向数百万体育迷介绍 XRP 的首要平台。”
除了球衣之外，Ripple 还将资助堪萨斯州学生运动员针对传统金融和数字资产的教育项目，同时寻求将堪萨斯州毕业生与技术职业联系起来。 堪萨斯男篮教练比尔·塞尔夫在一份声明中表示：“现在是大学体育运动中要大胆行动的关键时刻，这就是今天的宣布所要实现的目标。” “我们将确保我们的员工了解合作伙伴关系的重要性以及为什么它对他们的前进有利。” 这笔交易将松鸦鹰队和堪萨斯大学与 Ripple 总裁布拉德·加林豪斯 (Brad Garlinhouse) 重新联系起来。布拉德·加林豪斯毕业于该大学，此前曾将观看松鸦鹰队的比赛描述为一种“罪恶的乐趣”。 加密货币行业在体育界的赞助交易有着悠久且有时存在争议的历史。
FTX 是一家倒闭的加密货币交易所，其创始人 Sam Bankman-Fried 因欺诈罪而被定罪。该交易所因在 2021 年购买了 NBA 迈阿密热火队主场体育场的冠名权而闻名，但不到两年后，FTX 徽标就被撕掉了。 Terra 是一个同样崩溃的加密网络，其创始人也身陷囹圄，它于 2022 年与 MLB 球队华盛顿国民队签署了一份为期五年的赞助协议，其标志仍然装饰在球场上。 不过，最近加密货币公司又开始涉足体育营销领域，美国领先的加密货币交易所 Coinbase 与 NBA 签订了长期赞助协议。去年6月，总部位于巴黎的数字资产安全公司Ledger还与圣安东尼奥马刺队达成了赞助协议，在整个NBA赛季，马刺队的球衣和球馆地板上都醒目地放置了Ledger标志。
如果 Ripple 的营销支出是为了对 XRP 产生积极的市场影响，它不会立即感受到。今天，XRP 的价格下跌了 4.2% 左右，该加密货币以 670 亿美元的市值稳居数字资产前六位。去年，与 Ripple 相关的代币创下了 3.65 美元的历史新高，但此后已下跌近 71%，交易价格约为 1.07 美元。 每日简报时事通讯 每天从当前的热门新闻报道以及原创专题、播客、视频等开始。
In brief
Ripple has signed a sports marketing deal with the University of Kansas to make XRP the official crypto of Kansas Athletics.
The deal places the XRP logo prominently on the jerseys of sporting teams at the university.
The company will also fund educational programs about traditional finance and digital assets for student-athletes.
Ripple, the payments company whose founders created the XRP cryptocurrency, has inked a multi-year sponsorship deal with the University of Kansas Athletics that will place the XRP logo on the jerseys of all Kansas athletic teams.
As part of the agreement, XRP also becomes the official cryptocurrency of Kansas Athletics.
“This era of college athletics demands innovative, forward-thinking partnerships," Director of Athletics at the University of Kansas Travis Goff said in a statement.
“Ripple recognizes the unique reach and passion of the Jayhawk community, and we're proud they have chosen Kansas Athletics as a premier platform to introduce XRP to millions of sports fans,” Goff said.
Beyond the jerseys, Ripple will also fund educational programs focused on traditional finance and digital assets for Kansas students-athletes, while seeking to connect KU graduates to careers in technology.
“It's a critical time in college athletics to be bold, and that's what is being accomplished with today's announcement,” Kansas Men’s Basketball Coach Bill Self said in a statement. “We will make sure our guys understand the significance of the partnership and why it is beneficial for them moving forward."
The deal reconnects the Jayhawks and University of Kansas with Ripple President Brad Garlinhouse, who graduated from the university and previously described watching Jayhawks games as a “guilty pleasure.”
The crypto industry has a long, and at times controversial, history of sponsorship deals in the sports world.
FTX, the collapsed crypto exchange whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted for fraud, famously bought the naming rights for the stadium that hosts the Miami Heat NBA franchise in 2021—only for the FTX logo to be torn down less than two years later. Terra, a crypto network that similarly collapsed and whose founder is also behind bars, signed a five-year sponsorship deal with MLB franchise the Washington Nationals in 2022, and its logo still adorns the ballpark.
More recently, though, crypto companies have been wading back into sports marketing, with leading U.S.-based crypto exchange Coinbase holding a long-standing sponsorship deal with the NBA. In June of last year, the Paris-based digital asset security firm Ledger also landed a sponsorship agreement with the San Antonio Spurs, which prominently placed the Ledger logo on the Spurs jerseys and arena floor throughout the NBA season.
If the marketing spend for Ripple is to make a positive market impact for XRP, it won’t be felt immediately. The price of XRP today fell around 4.2%, as the cryptocurrency clings to a top 6 spot among digital assets with a $67 billion market cap. The Ripple-linked token notched a new all-time high of $3.65 last year, but has since fallen nearly 71% to trade around $1.07.
