Taylor Swift’s Partnership Fails After Bankrupt Crypto Exchange FTX Backs Out of the $100m Deal

Taylor Swift signed and agreed to a sponsorship agreement with bankrupt crypto exchange FTX following months of negotiations, according to an interview a person familiar with the case gave to CNBC.

Swift's due diligence efforts were hailed in public statements by a class-action attorney, who stated that the artist urged the exchange to explain why its listed assets were not considered unregistered securities. The form of the agreement contradicts public messaging regarding the nature of the failed FTX-Swift merger.

Swift would not endorse FTX, and the potential contract had been "narrowed down to a tour sponsorship deal," according to a source involved with the conversations, per Business Insider. "That's why the deal was never finalized," stated the source. "FTX wanted Taylor to endorse them by doing commercials, interviews, and promotional events on their behalf like other celebrities were doing at that time, but she would not agree to endorse FTX," the source said.

Swift eventually agreed to the arrangement, and the completed agreement was forwarded to FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried's email inbox, where it remained ignored until a group of FTX officials persuaded Bankman-Fried not to proceed with the $100 million deal. Three other sources acquainted with the situation told The New York Times that Swift's team signed the deal with FTX after six months of negotiations, and Bankman-Fried eventually pulled the plug. Due to ongoing federal and bankruptcy processes, the source familiar with the situation requested anonymity.

On an April episode of the crypto podcast The Scoop, class action lawyer Adam Moskowitz stated that Swift was the only celebrity to ask critical questions about FTX. According to court records, Moskowitz, who represents FTX clients, has targeted celebrities in litigation, alleging that they promoted the crypto exchange without disclosing that they were paid to do so. "In our discovery, Taylor Swift actually asked them, can you tell me that these are not unregistered securities?" Moskowitz said on the episode.

The Financial Times was the first to report on an FTX-Swift collaboration. In November 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy. Bankman-Fried is facing a slew of federal allegations, including fraud and violations of campaign finance laws. Gary Wang, Caroline Ellison, and Nishad Singh, three more FTX officials, have pled guilty to numerous federal counts and are helping with the government's prosecution of Bankman-Fried.

FT reported in December, while the purchase was being evaluated, that FTX had sought a "light degree of endorsement" from Swift on social media. According to a source close to the conversations, Swift never considered agreeing to approve the exchange. “Taylor would not and did not, agree to an endorsement deal. The discussion was around a potential tour sponsorship that did not happen,” the person said.