Topline
Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto exchange FTX reached “late stages” of negotiating a $100 million sponsorship deal with Taylor Swift before they ended last spring, according to the Financial Times.
Taylor Swift attends the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted By Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg ... [+]
Key Facts
The deal, had it been finalized, would have included an NFT ticketing arrangement, according to the Financial Times, though it eventually fell through.
Bankman-Fried, who according to the report described himself as “a fan of Tay Tay,” was advised by some senior executives to not go through with the project because of the cost of a deal with Swift, and doubts about whether Swift would appeal to potential crypto traders.
FTX also tried to get a “light degree of endorsement” from Swift on her social media channels, where she has millions of followers, a former employee said.
Sources close to the negotiations told the Financial Times that the discussions with Swift underlined the unusual internal process for making decisions at the company, and was an example of a wider issue of Bankman-Fried’s closest allies clashing with experienced executives.
Swift never considered personally endorsing FTX, one source described as being close to the discussions said.
The talks began in fall 2021 and were scrapped this spring.
Tangent
Celebrities who signed deals with the company included Tom Brady, Naomi Osaka and Steph Curry.
Key Background
The $40 billion Bahamas-based cryptocurrency exchange began to publicly unravel last month after the deep ties between FTX and its sister company, Alameda Research, were unveiled. Alameda reportedly used FTT—FTX’s cryptocurrency—as collateral for billion-dollar loans to buy startup shares. After crypto prices crashed earlier this year, FTX reportedly loaned out customer assets to help the company fill in the gaps. In early November, CoinDesk reported that FTT made up a large part of Alameda’s balance sheet, and Binance CEO Chanpeng Zeo told his Twitter followers that his company would sell its FTT tokens after “recent revelations” came to light. Customers rushed to take out money, and the company filed for bankruptcy November 11, leading Bankman-Fried to resign. Bankman-Fried has denied allegations of fraud.
Further Reading
FTX held talks with Taylor Swift over $100mn sponsorship deal (Financial Times)
