The Polkadot logo is expected to be embedded in Lionel Messi’s training attire as a result of a tie-up with Inter Miami, a football club based in the United States. According to a press release, players from Inter Miami, including football stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, will wear training outfits featuring the Polkadot logo. As a result, Polkadot can be considered the club’s official global training partner.
Branding and Fan Engagement Activities
The Polkadot logo will be displayed prominently on both the front and back of the training jerseys worn by players and coaching staff during training sessions and pre-match warmups. The fans will be able to see the new kits in action for the first time on August 31 before an away fixture against Chicago Fire FC. Apart from having its logo on the training kits, Polkadot will also be advertised on Inter Miami Chase Stadium, the home stadium. In addition, there are planned promotion activities in the fan zone provided by the club to entertain fans.
Chrissy Hill, the Chief Legal Officer and interim COO of Parity Technologies—a company behind Polkadot— said that the sponsorship highly aligns with the vision of the future of entertainment at Polkadot. Polkadot, launched in 2020, is a scalable, interoperable, sharded blockchain network founded by Ethereum co-founder Dr. Gavin Wood. It is designed to integrate a range of blockchains by using its core chain called the Relay Chain to share security and consensus.
This architecture provides for the functioning of independent blockchains called parachains, which can work in parallel and interact with each other, which increases compatibility and performance throughout the network.
Recent Controversies Surrounding Marketing Expenditures
This recent partnership comes on the heels of Polkadot’s sponsorships with Indy 500 driver Conor Daly and gaming company Mythical. The network operates under a decentralised governance model, where community members vote on the allocation of treasury funds, including marketing and sponsorship budgets. While the financial details of this sponsorship have not been disclosed, the partnership aligns with Polkadot’s previous marketing efforts.
Earlier this year, the crypto community expressed criticism regarding Polkadot’s marketing strategies, especially after a report revealed the project spent approximately $37 million on marketing in the first half of 2024, diverting funds from more critical ecosystem development initiatives.
Is Polkadot the next FTX?
Recently, Polkadot has drawn public attention after its recent treasury report revealed that it spent $87 million worth of DOT tokens for its operations in the first half of this year. This rate of spending is double the spending rate of the previous six months and has caused anxiety among analysts and shareholders.
More than $36 million or approximately 42% of the Polkadot budget was allocated to marketing and outreach initiatives. Activities like advertisements, influencer promotions, events, meetups and conferences were among the most popular with the purpose of attracting new users, developers and businesses to the Polkadot ecosystem.
Source: Polkadot Treasury Report
The second largest portion, or about $23 million (26.7%), was for the development category. This funding is meant to be for the development of basic things like wallets and development toolkits.
Tommi Enenkel, Polkadot’s head ambassador, noted that the Treasury currently possesses around 32 million DOT—valued at roughly $200 million—in liquid assets, alongside an annual net loss of 17 million DOT, equating to about $108 million. If spending continues at this current pace and the DOT to USD value remains stable, Polkadot is projected to have around two years of operational runway left. This situation raises concerns, especially when considering the extravagant nature of its expenditures.
Such financial habits have ignited comparisons to the downfall of FTX, which similarly displayed patterns of opulent spending prior to its collapse. Critics argue that Polkadot’s heavy emphasis on marketing, as opposed to development, could signal potential issues for its future. There are growing worries about the sustainability of its financial practices. For the latest updates on this story and other cryptocurrency market news, keep following DeyThere.
