Terra and Washington Nationals Ink Sponsorship Deal

Terra, the project behind the top-ten cryptocurrency LUNA, has partnered with the MLB team the Washington Nationals.

Partnership Will Focus On Branding, Payments

According to an announcement published today, the partnership includes several elements including branding and payments.

The Nationals will accept Terra’s UST stablecoin as a form of payment at Nationals Park, the team’s home stadium in Washington, D.C. Support for crypto payments could begin next season.

The deal will also see The Nationals Club—the indoor dining space behind home plate—renamed the Terra Club. Terra will also be featured on stadium signage and will sponsor a digital online series.

Terra Labs founder Do Kwon noted that the partnership is an opportunity to “encourage and educate the public, including policymakers” about cryptocurrency and decentralized money.

Terra Is the First DAO to Sponsor a Team

Kwon added that this partnership is the first deal between a sports team and a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO). Terra operates a DAO that holds approximately $2.7 billion of funds and lets token holders determine the use of those funds.

Earlier announcements on Jan. 31 revealed that the DAO would spend $38.15 million on the then-unnamed sponsorship. Terra’s communications head confirmed the value of the deal today.

Other cryptocurrency companies such as Crypto.com and FTX have also formed extensive sports partnerships, and both companies are expected to run Super Bowl ads this upcoming weekend. Unlike Terra, those companies are centralized exchanges rather than community-led projects developing a blockchain and cryptocurrency.

Still, sponsorships akin to today’s Terra deal are not unheard of. The Litecoin Foundation sponsored a UFC match in 2018, while the Dogecoin community sponsored a U.K. soccer team in 2021.

Disclaimer: At the time of writing this author held less than $100 of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and altcoins.