Nexo Serves Up a Grand Slam Crypto Play at the Australian Open

Crypto company Nexo has entered into a multi-year partnership with Tennis Australia that will see it become the Official Crypto Partner of the Australian Open. The deal will also see Nexo sponsor several lead-up events in the Summer of Tennis Series, including the Brisbane Open, the United Cup, and Adelaide International.

As part of the deal, Nexo’s branding will appear court-side on “Nexo Coaches Pods” across the Australian Open and the smaller tournaments.

The 2026 instalment of the Australian Open will begin January 12 in Melbourne and is likely to attract hundreds of millions of eyeballs worldwide, giving Nexo’s brand valuable global exposure.

A Nexo spokesperson told Decrypt that “partnering with Tennis Australia allows us to connect with millions of fans while aligning with a world-class institution committed to long-term thinking and future progress.”

Nexo was previously known as a crypto lending platform, but after facing regulatory issues in the US, it has recently rebranded as a ‘digital asset wealth platform’.

Related: Rugby Legends Team Up with Ledger to Tackle Crypto Security in Australia

Nexo Focuses on Sports Partnerships to Rebuild Brand

In the wake of the catastrophic FTX collapse of 2022, as regulators began targeting the crypto industry, Nexo was banned from operating in the US for offering ‘unregulated securities’.

The company ended up settling the case with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2023, paying US$45 million (AU$67.8m) in penalties and agreeing not to offer its lending product inside the US — but admitting no wrongdoing.

Nexo’s past legal entanglements don’t seem to have bothered Tennis Australia though, with the organisation’s Chief Commercial Officer, Cedric Cornelis, describing the crypto firm as “a natural fit for the AO and our events across the Summer of Tennis.”

“Together, we’re creating new ways for fans to connect with the game and the people behind it.” 

In 2025, Nexo has been busy racking up partnerships with sporting bodies, having partnered with golf’s DP World Tour, the Acapulco Tennis Open and the Mifel Tennis Open.

Related: Swyftx Crypto Exchange Becomes Title Partner of Super Rugby Pacific and Super Rugby Women’s

Partnerships between sporting organisations and crypto firms were once wildly popular, perhaps peaking with Crypto.com’s late 2021 naming rights sponsorship of the LA Lakers NBA team’s home ground, reportedly valued at US$700 million over 20 years. Since the collapse of FTX just a few months later though, these high-value sports partnerships with crypto firms dried up for several years.

Recently, we’ve seen something of a resurgence in these deals, with cold-wallet maker Ledger becoming a jersey sponsor of the San Antonio Spurs NBA side and stablecoin issuer Tether becoming a part owner of the Italian soccer club, Juventus.

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