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Are Crypto Sponsorships Returning? University of Miami Loses Out on Helium Mobile Agreement
Helium Mobile, a decentralised network powered by cryptocurrency, has recently become the newest sponsor of Miami Hurricanes sports teams.

The company and university announced on Wednesday that Helium Mobile, a wireless phone service based on the decentralised, cryptocurrency-powered Helium network, has been named the Official Wireless Sponsor of University of Miami Athletics.

As part of the collaboration, Helium Mobile will host promotions and fan experiences at Miami Hurricanes home games across sports, including as yet unannounced deals for students. The sponsorship will launch at the Miami vs. Notre Dame men’s basketball game on December 2, with Helium Mobile serving as the game’s presenting sponsor.

The deal is in effect for the remainder of the 2023-24 collegiate season. A Helium Mobile representative told Decrypt that it was a six-figure deal, but did not provide specific financial details.

In August, Helium Mobile introduced an unlimited phone plan for $5 per month in Miami through its network of hotspots, which are run by users who receive cryptocurrency tokens for being a part of the network. When users are not in the vicinity of a hotspot, T-Mobile’s nationwide 5G coverage is accessed and supports Helium Mobile’s network.

According to a release, Frank Mong, Chief Operating Officer of Nova Labs, the company that created Helium Mobile, “knows how tight budgets can be and partnered with the University of Miami to help students, faculty, staff, and fans have a more affordable phone plan in their city.”

As the industry grew, cryptocurrency companies signed a plethora of sports team and league sponsorships in 2021 and 2022. However, after the crypto market crash last year, and especially after the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX in November 2022, which had led the charge on sports alliances with the likes of Major League Baseball, the Miami Heat, and Tom Brady, among others, these deals slowed down.

These kinds of sponsorship deals are still in place in 2023; for example, Mysten Labs, the creator of the Sui network, has sponsorship deals with Oracle Red Bull Racing, the dominant F1 team, and Williams Racing, which is sponsored by cryptocurrency exchange Kraken. Additionally, the agreements between two football clubs and exchanges—Manchester City and BitMEX, and AC Milan and OKX—were extended. However, the number of new cryptocurrency sponsorship agreements with sports teams has decreased to a trickle.

Helium is a decentralised “network of networks” that rewards users with cryptocurrency tokens for taking part and operating wireless nodes. Helium was founded on its own blockchain at first, but earlier this year, after a community vote in 2022, it moved to Solana.

By operating a hotspot, which broadcasts a signal that could provide connectivity to nearby Internet of Things (IoT) devices like sensors and trackers, users of the original Helium network were able to share their home or business Wi-Fi connection. To date, more than 960,000 of these hotspots have been installed.

The Helium 5G network was introduced more recently to offer connectivity for gadgets such as laptops and smartphones. Building the Helium Mobile service on top of that network, Nova Labs, the startup that houses the original Helium creators, entered into an agreement with T-Mobile to use its service to offer nationwide connectivity throughout the United States.