Naomi Osaka is FTX's Newest Ambassador

FTX has added another star to its ever-growing roster of crypto-supportive athletes. This time, it’s Tennis Superstar, Naomi Osaka. The cryptocurrency exchange has used the last year to fill certain positions on their own roster, from athlete ambassadors to league partnerships.

FTX announced today that Osaka would serve as a global ambassador for the brand, joining other mega athletes such as Tom Brady, Stephan Curry, and Shohei Ohtani. In exchange, Osaka will receive an equity stake in FTX, paid in cryptocurrency.

The new partnership hopes to bring more women into the space, with content creatively directed by Osaka aimed at young women. FTX also plans to make a donation to Osaka’s charity, Play Academy, which was made in collaboration with Nike.

Interestingly enough, FTX also made note of the fact that Naomi plans to make her own decisions on personal investments, with the exchange providing advice.

"We have seen the statistics about how few women are part of crypto by comparison, which kind of mirrors the inequality we see in other financial markets," Osaka said in a release.

"Cryptocurrencies started with the goal of being accessible to everyone and breaking down barriers to entry,” she continued. “I'm excited to partner with FTX to get back to that mission and to innovate on new ways to reach more people and further democratize the space.”

This isn't Ms. Osakas' first foray into crypto either. Back in April of 2021 she released a series of NFT collectibles that were designed in collaboration with her sister, Mari Osaka. The duo raised $600,000 for Play Academy.

Her last crypto-centric partnership was with Tom Bradys NFT platform, Autograph. She sits on the board of advisors of Autograph, alongside other notable stars like Derek Jeter, Tiger Woods, and Simone Biles. Naomi pointed to Dogecoin's rise in fame last year as the reason she became so interested in the space.

FTX has several sport partnerships, including the NBA’s Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors, Major League Baseball, and League of Legends’ esports competitions.

FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried recently spoke with Decrypt on there gm podcast, about how he has seen significant reruns from the company’s sports sponsorships, "Everyone we talk to who knows us a little bit, or a lot, or barely, or intimately, this is top of mind for them," he said. "Clearly this has penetrated more than everything else we've done combined, in terms of people's perception of us.”