Crypto exchange Binance partners with Cristiano Ronaldo to promote NFTs, first collections will be released later this year

Binance, the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volumes said on Thursday that has been partnered with Portuguese soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo for the promotion of Non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

Binance agreed on a multi-year partnership with a soccer star to create a series of NFTs collections for the sale on Binance platform and also said that the first NFTs collection would be released later this year.

An NFT is a digital asset on a blockchain, a record of transactions kept on networked computers, and the blockchain serves as a public ledger, allowing anyone to verify the NFT’s authenticity and check who owns it.

Souring investor sentiment toward risky assets has led to a plunge in cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin, and has also spilled over into NFTs, which exploded in popularity last year.

Crypto companies have been relying on sports partnerships to go mainstream. Last year, Crypto.com signed a $700 million deal to rename the Staples Center in Los Angeles as the Crypto.com Arena, while crypto exchange FTX Trading Ltd sold a stake to National Football League quarterback Tom Brady.