Nerd Street Partners with FTX US in Cryptocurrency Sponsorship Deal

PHILADELPHIA, February 17 , 2022 – Nerd Street Gamers, the national esports platform, today announced a partnership with FTX US, a leading, US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange. As part of the multi-year agreement, FTX US will become a presenting sponsor for the upcoming Nerd Street Championships this summer, as well as Nerd Street’s national schedule of weekly community events at their nine owned-and-operated esports venues.

FTX US will power Nerd Street’s ability to accept crypto payments, offer crypto payouts to its users, and empower additional future blockchain-related features. Built on the partnership’s foundation of increasing value to gamers, Nerd Street will leverage its in-person events, digital tournaments, and live broadcasts to provide educational content surrounding blockchain technology.

The Nerd Street Championships presented by FTX US are a series of esports competitions across multiple game titles split into two seasonal circuits, culminating in a championship event per season. The qualifying competitions are open to all players of all skill levels. Teams that participate accrue points to qualify for the championship event at the end of each season, while monthly qualifiers provide auto berths to the winners. Over $600,000 in prizes will be awarded to competitors for the year.

“FTX US has a strong focus on making sure our industry - crypto - is a safe accessible place for all types of people,” said Brett Harrison, President, FTX. “That's why as a gamer and esports fan I’m proud to support Nerd Street’s mission to likewise bring esports to everyone. Their platform is unlocking a massively untapped market of gamers that want to participate but lack access and we’re excited to support their growth.”

“Every time a new paradigm in technology opens up - the internet, web browsers, mobile phones, or social networks - there is always a lot of noise, and the majority fails to sustain beyond the initial hype,” said John Fazio, CEO, and Founder of Nerd Street Gamers. “With blockchain, it’s been no different. Our partnership with FTX US is focused on arming our gamers with context and knowledge to cut through the noise of getting rich quick schemes and see the real value of this new technology. Blockchain is still in the early innings, but I’m confident that it will have a profoundly positive impact on gamers when applied correctly. Through our partnership with FTX US, we’ll begin rolling out blockchain enhanced features that provide value without cost to our members.”

This new partnership with FTX US arrives as Nerd Street finishes a monumental year. In 2021, the company hosted over 500 tournaments that broadcast to 4.8 million viewers and fueled the platform to pass 10,000 monthly active users. Nerd Street also doubled its footprint of owned and operated esports venues (named Localhost) to nine locations, including the nation’s first esports campus dubbed “The Block,” a 50,000-square-foot venue in Philadelphia. On the tailwinds of easing pandemic restrictions, average in-store sales for Nerd Street’s venues increased over 950% from 2020 to 2021. The company sees the trends continuing, already booking a record-setting Quarter 1 in 2022.

For more information on the Nerd Street Championships, click here.

About FTX US
FTX US is a US-regulated cryptocurrency exchange, built from the ground up. Our mission is for FTX US to grow the digital currency ecosystem, offer US traders a platform that inspires their loyalty, and become the market leading US cryptocurrency exchange.

To learn more about FTX US, please visit: https://ftx.us/

About Nerd Street
The Nerd Street platform is a marketplace of esports experiences connected to a national network of esports venues that provide access to the equipment necessary for anyone to compete. Nerd Street’s operating system empowers esports venues to manage their facilities and grow their traffic by connecting them to a constant flow of esports programming like leagues, tournaments, and camps. The company’s 9 owned and operated venues, called Localhost, set the bar for safe, quality, and integrity-driven esports experiences while more than 20 third party venues expand the reach of Nerd Street’s programming. Nerd Street has received venture capital backing from Founders Fund, Comcast Spectacor, Seventy Six Capital, Elevate Ventures, Riverside Ventures, Gaingels, Acies Investments, Five Below, and angel investor George Miller. Other notable shareholders include NFL stars Emmanuel Sanders and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

For more information, follow @nerdstreet and nerdstreet.com.

Media Contact:
Olivia Schaller
oschaller@nerdstgamers.com
(609) 351-8493