Crypto companies have spent $2.4bn (£1.9bn) globally over the last year and a half on sports sponsorships as they splurge on marketing.

Major crypto firms have signed deals with big athletes, sporting franchises, and leagues as they seek to rival the marketing prowess of non-crypto brands, according to Bloomberg.

Crypto exchange Binance has signed with football star Christiano Ronaldo, while FTX contracted with the NBA, and Crypto.com sponsored the Formula One grand prix this year even as the crypto crash sends cryptocurrency prices plunging with drastic layoffs across the industry.

“We think crypto will be ubiquitous, so we’re carefully looking at how we become ubiquitous,” said Crypto.com Chief Marketing Officer Steven Kalifowitz, Bloomberg reported, with exchange sponsoring the FIFA world cup tournament in Qatar this year, which will have billions of viewers across the globe.