Coinbase becomes the official partner of Riot Games’ global esports events for LoL and VALORANT

Coinbase, a cryptocurrency exchange and blockchain company, is teaming up with Riot Games to develop custom segments and in-game cosmetic rewards aimed at enhancing fans' viewing experiences during global esports events for League of Legends (LoL) and VALORANT. This partnership officially begins at the VALORANT Masters Toronto event in June.

Both companies posted a press release going through all the details of this partnership. "Coinbase will contribute a number of fan-facing enhancements, including custom segments, event activations, hospitality promotions, and giveaways for VALORANT and LoL Esports fans, all to be integrated in future events," Riot Games wrote. Coinbase went further on the news by announcing a "first-of-its-kind 'Econ Report' in VALORANT Esports and 'Gold Grind' in LoL Esports, which will provide viewers with live analysis of each game's in-match currency movement and its impact on team strategies."

Coinbase appears to be focusing particularly on engaging with fan communities. They announced plans to host exclusive “drops” for viewers during events, along with opportunities to win an all-expenses-paid trip for two to either the VALORANT Champions Tour or LoL Worlds competitions. The cryptocurrency company stated that “esports and crypto have long gone hand-in-hand as digital-first communities,” and this partnership aims to bring about “future innovation in the sports partnership space.”

The company has a big portfolio of partnerships with sports leagues such as the WNBA and NBA, including the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers, the Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team, and Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga. In the esports field, they have an open collaboration with Team Liquid.

This announcement didn't sit well with various people, including those affiliated with Team Liquid. After the Masters Bangkok, Team Liquid was fined $4,000 for breaching the Art. 8.2 of the VCT 2025 Global Policies. To give some context, this article says that "all sponsorship, endorsement, advertising, or related agreements that a Team or Team Member enters into, and all underlying transactions or actions taken pursuant to those agreements shall comply with the terms of the then-current VALORANT Branding and Style Guide."

According to Riot Games, Team Liquid was informed that the version of the team's jersey used in the VCT EMEA could not be used at global events.

"On February 20, 2025, several players from Team Liquid wore the unapproved version of their jersey team jersey during the match against EDG at Masters Bangkok, implicating Team Liquid in a potential breach of Art. 8.2 of the Global Policies," Riot stated to address the situation.

Even though Riot Games was not explicit about which sponsor was the problem, many fans believed it was about the partnership between Coinbase and Team Liquid, since it's one of the biggest sponsors on the jersey, aside from being a cryptocurrency company. Many fans have already started criticizing Riot Games for their hypocrisy on the Team Liquid situation. They fined Team Liquid for the jersey, but then chose to make a partnership with the same company.

Currently, the agreement does not include any direct cryptocurrency transactions or features based on blockchain technology in Riot’s games or esports viewing platforms. However, some fans are concerned about the potential impact of cryptocurrency on the esports industry. They remember that Riot Games has had a complicated history with these types of partnerships, particularly due to the $96 million deal with FTX for the North American League of Legends Championship Series (LCS). Riot Games sought to terminate this deal following the arrest of FTX's founder, Sam Bankman-Fried. The partnership resulted in TSM briefly rebranding as TSM FTX before the cryptocurrency exchange collapsed in 2022 amid fraud investigations.

Others remember that Riot Games' esports is not going through an easy phase after it revealed that the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) lost over 40 million dollars in three years. The LCK is the biggest LoL league in the world. They believe this partnership with Coinbase will bring more money to prop up the esports side. Other fans are very skeptical about this move, especially because there is no indication of possible monetary help for the teams, which could compromise the esports clubs' finances.

The cryptocurrency has been growing in the esports industry. A major advancement in the intersection of crypto and esports has been the simplification and increased security of betting. In many regions, traditional betting faces legal or logistical barriers, and users are often discouraged by identity verification requirements. Cryptocurrency addresses these issues by allowing anonymous participation and seamless cross-border transactions, making esports betting more accessible and private for users.

Crypto esports is where the use of NFTs is most prominent, as these games often require players to buy unique digital assets to participate. These NFTs not only serve as in-game items, but also grant access to gameplay to mix ownership and play in a way traditional games do not.

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