Crypto’s popularity among kids drove X Games-MoonPay deal: ‘New energy and new transformation’

The X Games’ new partnership with crypto payments firm MoonPay to sponsor a year-round, team-based league was driven in part by the shared popularity of both brands among younger audiences, according to the action-sports brand’s CEO Jeremy Bloom.

“The synergies that came to mind as we were introduced is the demo,” Bloom told The Block when reflecting on how the MoonPay partnership came to be. “We’re a kid demo, right? … And this new generation is shaping everything, including financial services, the blockchain, crypto.”

Bloom said he wants the 30-year-old X Games brand to stay current. Shifting to a multi-competition league and tapping a crypto-native partner are part of that vision.

“Perhaps in the past, X Games has been slow to evolve,” he said. “And so we’re bringing in this new energy and new transformation, and purposely building this brand into the future alongside the Gen Zs, the middle school kids, the high school kids, and college kids. So from that perspective, [the MoonPay deal] made a lot of sense.”

Crypto companies eager to attract new users — MoonPay is an example — have regularly sought out sports sponsorship deals across various professional leagues, but the dynamics of the X Games deal stand out in part because of its scope and structure. X Games named the crypto firm the title sponsor of the newly-formed “MoonPay X Games League (XGL).”

“With MoonPay, X Games is evolving from individual contests into a global, co-ed league with team, salaries, benefits, and real stakes across a full season of competition,” Bloom previously said.

Unable to reveal specifics, Bloom said the dollar amount of the MoonPay deal is worth eight figures.

“We’re thinking long term,” according to MoonPay founder and CEO Ivan Soto-Wright. “X Games is becoming a real league, and that’s the moment to invest big. The MoonPay X Games League puts athletes first and brings crypto to a global audience, powered by our partner ecosystem, in a bold, new way.”

X Games evolves

The partnership comes as the X Games undergoes a broader business transformation. After ESPN sold its majority stake in X Games to MSP Sports Capital in 2022, the brand moved toward building a team-based league. MSP Sports Capital is known for also investing in McLaren Racing, which also has ties to crypto.

Under Bloom’s leadership — who was both a U.S. Olympic skier and player in the National Football League — the X Games is transforming into a professional sports league rather than only staging separate, standalone events.

With MoonPay’s support, X Games League is kicking off this year with four teams from four cities: Los Angeles, New York, Tokyo, and São Paulo. Earlier this month, the league’s teams held a draft to select athletes.

The league will still feature the sports that X Games is popular for, with the first championship series this summer to feature skateboarding, BMX, and Moto X competitions, according to the X Games website.

‘Ecosystem play’

Bloom said the MoonPay agreement goes beyond a traditional sponsorship, describing it as a “true partnership of brands who have a similar demo, of brands that have a similar view of the world.”

The deal also allows MoonPay to promote additional crypto partners across the league by having competitors wear patches showcasing different blockchain brands. “They’re an ecosystem play. They do business with thousands of massive blockchain and crypto companies,” said Bloom.

MoonPay and Exodus Movement recently teamed up to give athletes selected in the X Games League inaugural Summer Draft $100,000 worth of signing bonuses paid in XO Cash, a USD-backed stablecoin managed by MoonPay.

Another unique dynamic of the agreement includes MoonPay’s option to buy into the league by acquiring its own teams at a later date.

Bloom is optimistic about the league’s economics and growth potential, pointing to rising franchise valuations in newer sports leagues such as pickleball and indoor golf.

“MoonPay looked at this as an incredible opportunity to get deeper and wider across action sports by potentially owning two teams,” Bloom said. “But they certainly saw the upside in the economics of getting in at the ground level with prices that are only going to exponentially rise in the next couple years.”

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