Shohei Ohtani joins likes of Stephen Curry, Tom Brady in partnership with crypto platform

Crypto trading platform FTX has named Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani as one of its global brand ambassadors.

The platform, founded by billionaires Gary Wang, 32, and Sam Bankman-Fried, 29, first broke the news of Ohtani’s role as its new global brand ambassador to CNN in November 2021. Ohtani, 27, joined a list of athletes promoting FTX, including NFL quarterback Tom Brady and Golden State Warriors player Stephen Curry.

“He’s obviously one of the most electric players in all of sports right now,” Bankman-Fried told CNN. “We are hoping to have a similarly revolutionary impact on what fintech means and what personal finance apps look like.”

FTX, which is currently the fourth-largest crypto exchange behind Binance, OKX and Bybit, released an ad featuring Ohtani at the beginning of the 2022 MBL season in April. In the video, several people can be seen trying to come up with a catchy nickname for the baseball star, including “Titan of the Two-way,” “The King of the Ding,” “Two-way Shohei” and “The Prime-time of Anaheim.”

Someone eventually mentions that Ohtani, who was voted the American League’s MVP and MLB Player of the Year last year, is also into cryptocurrency. After hearing the man suggest “The Great Cryptohtani,” Ohtani looks at him and says, “Maybe.”

As part of his deal with FTX, the baseball player will reportedly be paid in crypto and also have a stake in the company.

“Shohei isn’t just an athletic force – he’s a first-mover for financial autonomy,” Bankman-Fried told The Drum in a statement. “To truly shake up the future of finance, we know our exchange can’t be one-dimensional.”

In addition to FTX, Ohtani is a partner of more than 15 other brands, including Hugo Boss, Fanatics, Panini, Seiko, Topps, Oakley, Descente, Kowa and Mitsubishi Bank.

The Japanese-born player made history in February after it was announced that he would become the first Asian athlete to be featured on the cover of an American sports video game.” Ohtani also made history last month for pulling off a jaw-dropping two-way feat in two days.

Featured Image via FTX Official

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