The naming rights for Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles will not be impacted by the close of Crypto.com’s institutional exchange service, according to the company—despite speculation the exchange update could have led to a change in the storied arena’s name.
According to a statement provided to Blockworks on Friday, Crypto.com said it would soon be shuttering its institutional exchange service for U.S. customers due to a lack of demand from financial institutions.
The shutdown, which affects less than 400 entities, will not impact the company’s retail trading app—which serves a large number of its more than 80 million users.
The closing of the institutional exchange generated speculation online that it would affect the company’s naming rights for Crypto.com Arena, but Crypto.com confirmed in an email to Forbes that the development would not have any impact on the arena’s name.
ESPN first reported the news Friday afternoon.
Crypto.com entered a $700 million naming rights agreement in 2021 with AEG, the owner and operator of the arena known for years as the Staples Center. Crypto.com’s decision to drop the institutional exchange comes amid government pressure on other cryptocurrency exchanges, with Binance’s U.S. division announcing Thursday that users would no longer be able to trade the U.S. dollar on its platform following a lawsuit from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC also sued crypto exchange Coinbase for an alleged breach of trading rules.
Crypto.com said it would continue to evaluate “product-market fit” for a potential relaunch of its institutional exchange for U.S. customers in the future. It is unclear when exactly the relaunch will take place.
Crypto.com to suspend US institutional exchange (Blockworks)
Sources: Crypto.com change won’t affect L.A. arena naming rights (ESPN)
