Amidst CeFi chaos, it’s been a relatively quiet year for Seattle-based staking platform, StormX. Despite signing a multi-year deal jersey patch sponsorship with the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers last year, that deal has come to a close according to the team on Friday. StormX is yet to comment on the matter.
Let’s review the brief details that we’re hearing through the wire in the last 24 hours regarding the matter, and how things got to this point.
StormX: Past And Present
In July 2021, in the midst of high-flying sports sponsorships being sold left, right and center, the Portland Trail Blazers secured their second-ever jersey patch sponsor with staking platform StormX. It was considered a regional play, as StormX is based just a few hours north of Portland in Seattle, Washington. At it’s time, despite StormX’s relatively quiet public image, it was the first-ever crypto jersey patch in the NBA.
When the deal was established last year, it was reportedly a five-year deal. However, the Trail Blazers seemed to have cut it short – which could be for a number of reasons. Respected Portland sports reporter Casey Holdahl first broke the news that the deal was finished, and that the Blazers are actively searching for a new jersey patch sponsor as the NBA season tip-off is now less than 30 days away.
StormX (STMX) native token has seen a substantial decline since establishing their partnership with the Portland Trail Blazers last year. | Source: STMX-USD on TradingView.com
Speculation: What Happened?
Of course, the market confidence in crypto, particularly around CeFi and staking platforms at large, is much lower than it was a year ago. The fall of Terra Luna, along with CeFi crypto earning platforms, like Voyager and Celsius, have substantially dampened consumer confidence and could have led the Trail Blazers to get cold feet on the future viability of the relationship.
However, the timing is still a bit interesting. As independent Portland sports reporter Sean Highkin reporter noted, the StormX patch was featured on player jerseys as recent as earlier this week for the team’s media day. There are a number of pacific northwest based companies that could serve as viable replacements for the StormX deal, but with no verified leads around what brands might be interested or in conversations with the club, it’s impossible to say who could fill the role for the team next.
The Blazers statement has been brief, stating only: “As we tip-off the 2022-23 season, we will launch a search to identify a new jersey-patch partner as we’ve ended our current relationship with StormX. We’ll share additional information in the near future on this exciting new opportunity.”
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