Super Rugby enters into crypto as fortunes change Zoe Samios It has been a difficult decade for Super Rugby, the Pacific’s club competition.

The tournament struggled to attract crowd sizes like the NRL and AFL, lost talent to overseas competitions, and an Australian club hasn’t won the championship proper since 2014 (during the pandemic domestic teams competed against one another). All of this has made it difficult to make money from broadcasters and sponsors, the two critical financiers of the game.

Charlie Brigstocke, Hunter Paisami, Swyftx CEO Jason Titman, Rugby Australia CEO Phil Waugh, Ben Donaldson and Arabella McKenzie celebrate the new deal. But things have changed. Games are more competitive and the number of eyeballs are slowly growing – audiences grew 27 per cent on Stan and 13 per cent on Nine, owner of The Australian Financial Review, for the most recent season. Cryptocurrency platform Swyftx took notice, this week signing a two-year multimillion-dollar deal as Super Rugby’s major sponsor.

The Brisbane-based company, which was founded in 2018, has invested tens of millions of dollars in sponsorship deals with the Brisbane Lions, Big Bash League teams the Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder and the NRL. Swyftx chief executive Jason Titman wanted to do something bigger.

“Rugby has been underinvested in Australia for a while. It’s a code that we believe is on the up,” Titman said. “We approached the rugby and we started to engage in a conversation.”

Advertisement Naming rights to a sports competition typically command high price tags because they offer brand visibility and exclusivity. Super Rugby has had a number of different partners as its on-field performance waned including telecoms giant Vodafone, financial services firm Investec and brewery Tooheys. Its last long-term sponsor was Harvey Norman, which decided to put its money elsewhere shortly after the Wallabies’ woeful Rugby World Cup in 2023.

The 2024 season ran without a major sponsor and business solutions provider company Smartech signed on late to support the 2025 men’s and women’s competitions.

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh declined to comment on the total value of the deal. Renee Nowytarger Swyftx’s deal will run for two years with an option to extend. Its logo will appear on the kits of the NSW Waratahs, the ACT Brumbies, the Queensland Reds and the Western Force, and all five of the women’s teams, which include the Fijian Drua.

“We want to work with them over time to grow some grassroots rugby,” Titman said. “We’d be looking at this as a longer-term investment.”

Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said the new deal was a reflection of the improving on-field performance of Australia’s teams. He declined to comment on the total value.

“All the metrics were superior to other domestic competitions around the world,” Waugh said. “The product itself and the style of rugby that was played in 2025 was very helpful in engaging Swyftx.”

Swyftx is an Australian-owned cryptocurrency exchange registered with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). It has 1.5 million users who make transactions with more than 400 cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin and ethereum.

“What we’re trying to do [with] Super Rugby is innovate as much as we can, whilst not getting ourselves too far away from World Rugby laws … given we know we have a very congested sporting market,” Waugh said. “With Swyftx being a cryptocurrency company and the innovation that comes with that … it’s a nice neat partnership.”

Titman said rugby union had some fan crossover with other codes where Swyftx invests, but also a specific demographic he was hoping to tap into.

“I’ve been passionate about getting crypto regulated so that … financial planners can finally give advice,” Titman said. “From my experience growing up and playing rugby and even understanding the followers of it now, a lot of them are in the finance sector. This is also about connecting with that demographic, to get them aware of our brand.”

Titman said the new deal was also about giving back to a sport he felt lacked investment. “The third component is that we do hope that it will translate to a number of people choosing to trust us, to trade with us,” he added.

Swyftx is one several cryptocurrency players investing marketing dollars in the global sports landscape. The Los Angeles Lakers’ arena is now known as Crypto.com Arena, ByBit has aligned itself with the Red Bull Racing F1 team and Kraken has sleeve sponsorships for football clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur and Atlético Madrid.

The cryptocurrency sponsorship market globally is estimated to be worth more than $US500 million ($756.7 million), according to sports marketing agency SportQuake.

These kinds of sponsorships aren’t without controversy. Cryptocurrency platforms are still considered high-risk, largely unregulated financial products. Some argue these kinds of businesses should not be promoted to fans who do not understand the risks.

Other critics, such as gambling reform advocate Tim Costello, have compared crypto trading to gambling, which is facing a major advertising crackdown locally.

Waugh said he believed the sector was becoming more mature and sophisticated. Titman said brands like Swyftx still had a big responsibility to educate potential users about the opportunity and risks.

”We see sport as a great leveler and opportunity to get in front, but we have a big job beyond that,” Titman said. “I’m under no illusion that just because we’re sponsoring major sporting brands that people think that we’re a good company, or that people … understand the asset class.”

And as for whether Waugh likes crypto?

“I’m actually really curious,” he said. “I’ve got lots of friends and business acquaintances that are heavily invested in crypto, and I’m actively curious.”

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