Nerd Street has partnered with the FTX US crypto exchange as a title partner for their weekly tournament series, and more.
More cryptocurrency sponsorships have arrived in esports, this time in the form of a partnership between FTX and Nerd Street. Nerd Street is Riot's partner for the North American Valorant Champions Tour, Challengers stage one.
What will Nerd Street gain by partnering with FTX?
FTX US will be the presenting partner for Nerd Street's series of weekly community events at their nine owned and operated venues. As part of the partnership, Nerd Street will use FTX's platform to accept payment for tournament entry in cryptocurrency, offer crypto payouts to users, and "empower additional blockchain-related features."
The Nerd Street Championships presented by FTX US are a series of esports competitions across multiple game titles split into two seasonal circuits, culminating in a championship event per season.
The qualifying competitions are open to all players of all skill levels. Teams that participate accrue points to qualify for the championship event at the end of each season, while monthly qualifiers provide auto berths to the winners. Over $600,000 in prizes to competitors for the year, thanks to this partnership.
“FTX US has a strong focus on making sure our industry - crypto - is a safe, accessible place for all types of people,” said Brett Harrison, President, FTX. “That's why as a gamer and esports fan, I’m proud to support Nerd Street’s mission likewise to bring esports to everyone. Their platform is unlocking a massively untapped market of gamers that want to participate but lack access and we’re excited to support their growth.”
FTX looks to educate the esports masses on Crypto
FTX will utilize Nerd Street's broadcasts to educate viewers about cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. They look to fill a hole in the gaming community to educate, rather than just advertising, the merits of blockchain and the potential benefits it could bring to gamers. This could, in time, reverse the malaise that the general esports population has about things like NFTs and cryptocurrency-related projects in general.
“Every time a new paradigm in technology opens up - the internet, web browsers, mobile phones, or social networks - there is always a lot of noise, and the majority fails to sustain beyond the initial hype,” said John Fazio, CEO, and Founder of Nerd Street Gamers. “With blockchain, it’s been no different. Our partnership with FTX US is focused on arming our gamers with context and knowledge to cut through the noise of getting rich quick schemes and see the real value of this new technology. Blockchain is still in the early innings, but I’m confident that it will profoundly positively impact gamers when applied correctly. Through our partnership with FTX US, we’ll begin rolling out blockchain enhanced features that provide value without cost to our members.”
Nerd Street on the rise
Nerd Street has seen quite the rise in the past year. In addition to partnering officially with Riot, the company hosted over 500 tournaments last year. All of those tournaments led to a lot of viewership and exposure for the brand - 4.8 million viewers, which led to over 10,000 users on their site. They also opened up "The Block," the largest esports camus, a 50,000 square foot venue in downtown Philadelphia. Their Localhost locations, located around the country, also doubled in size to nine venues, with a 950% in sales following easing pandemic pressures.
For the latest on Nerd Street, their efforts in competitive Valorant, and everything else esports, keep it locked here to Esports.gg.