Riot Games Teams Up with Coinbase: No Crypto Payments, Just Branding

Gaming giant Riot Games has just announced a multi-year partnership with Coinbase, kicking off with the VALORANT Masters in Toronto this June. But before fans start panicking (or celebrating) at the thought of League coins being sold on FTX, hold up—this move is about branding, not blockchain gameplay.

Yet.

What does the partnership include?

Well, get ready to see the Coinbase name during events, digital campaigns, and some co-branded content. Coinbase will be the “exclusive cryptocurrency exchange and official blockchain technology partner” for some of Riot’s biggest esports events, kicking off with the VALORANT Masters in Toronto this June. It will also sponsor the Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship for League of Legends later in 2023, as well as the VALORANT Masters and Champions tournaments.

The partnership will also include some new broadcast segments, like a VALORANT “Econ Report” and League’s “Gold Grind,” which will break down live in-game currency use and how it impacts matches. Fans can also expect some special event “drops” — like free emotes, icons, and enter promotions for prizes — including winning trips to major tournaments like the VALORANT Champions Tour or LoL Worlds.

So, does this mean League or Valorant will start handing out NFTs or crypto rewards? Nope — at least not yet.

Riot Teams Up with Coinbase: No Crypto Payments, Just Crypto Presence

According to Riot, the partnership is all about “fan engagement and visibility.” There are no plans right now to let players buy skins with Bitcoin or earn Ethereum by grinding ranked games. Instead, expect Coinbase to sponsor in-game segments and cosmetic bundles, plus some new broadcast packages.

Coinbase's VP of Marketing, Gary Sun, put it this way: "We're very data-driven, and when you look at audiences, we see a lot of synergies with the esports audiences relative to what we call the next generation of crypto onchain users."

In short: young gamers might become the next wave of crypto users, and Coinbase wants to meet them early. But not everyone is thrilled.

Crypto and Esports: A Messy History

For a start, crypto hasn't always played nice with esports. Remember TSM's big sponsorship deal with FTX — the $210 million naming rights agreement that rebranded the team as TSM FTX? That partnership collapsed in late 2022 when FTX filed for bankruptcy amid fraud scandals, leaving TSM scrambling to cut ties.

That's why some Riot fans are already raising eyebrows. Even without direct crypto sales or in-game features, many worry that seeing crypto brands on major broadcasts could normalize a risky space for a young, sometimes financially inexperienced audience.

But as David Mulhall, Riot's head of global esports partnerships, explained, Riot didn't jump into this lightly. If a partnership doesn't enhance the experience for players and fans, they usually move on—which is why they've been able to maintain partnerships like the one with State Farm for over a decade.

And Mulhall added that they're usually not in a hurry to make quick changes. "We're not easily flustered," he said with a smile.

He also pointed out that Coinbase has kept a better reputation than most crypto companies, which have been hit hard by this year's crypto winter and several high-profile scandals.

"We're not easily flustered. We've been doing this for a long time, and we're not going to be panicked by the news cycle. We prefer to take a long-term view on our partnerships. If a partnership doesn't feel right, or if it's not adding value to our fans, then we're not afraid to move on. But we're also not in a hurry to make changes. We like to take our time and make sure that we're making the best decisions for our community."

Sun agreed, saying Coinbase wants to build an "authentic foothold presence" in gaming—not just slap logos and get short-term partnerships.

"We're not looking for a quick win or a short-term partnership. We want to build something long-lasting and meaningful with a brand that we truly admire. We're also committed to doing this in a way that is sensitive to the community and the gaming experience."

Teaching, Not Preaching

Sticking with the topic of community concerns, Sun brought up some of the backlash against crypto, which he said is largely due to a lack of understanding.

"A lot of people think that crypto is a scam, but that's simply not true. It's a technology that has the potential to revolutionize the way we live and interact with the world."

According to Sun, part of Coinbase's mission is to "shrink the educational gap" around blockchain and crypto. He described Bitcoin as "borderless money that moves at the speed of the internet," aiming to fix