“The Web3 experience has given me access to my fans in entirely new ways. I feel like I’m more engaged with them, as opposed to them just being engaged by watching me compete.”
Maria Sharapova is a former professional tennis player who was once ranked No. 1 in the world. She became the first Russian woman to top the world tennis rankings at 18. While she represented Russia in Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) events, she has been a permanent United States resident since 1994, after moving there with her father.
Sharapova has achieved dozens of accolades throughout her career, including WTA Player of the Year, ESPY Best Female Tennis Player, Russian Cup Female Tennis Player of the Year, ESPY Best International Female Athlete, and WTA Fan Favorite Singles Player. Furthermore, she has also been a brand ambassador for major companies such as Prince, Nike, Cole Haan and Canon. She has additionally been a United Nations Development Program goodwill ambassador following a partnership with the UNDP.
Sharapova has been involved in a series of investment ventures in recent years, including in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries, and is currently an investor in MoonPay, a blockchain payments company building crypto-to-fiat conversion and transfer systems. She also has a stake in Public, a trading platform enabling investors to build stock and cryptocurrency portfolios.
Sharapova invested in some notable crypto projects in 2022, including MoonPay. In April 2022, she and over 60 other high-profile investors helped raise $87 million for the company through a Series A fundraising round. Other investors included Canadian pop star Justin Bieber, actor Bruce Willis and American rapper Snoop Dogg. The platform gained a good deal of support due to its unique nonfungible token content monetization framework and fan engagement capabilities. Toward the end of the year, Sharapova was involved in another fundraising event for Clio Snacks, which primarily manufactures and distributes yogurt bars. Clio announced that it would use the funds to expand its retail distribution network and grow its market share.
Besides partaking in investment ventures, Sharapova participated in some notable blockchain-related events in 2022, including Binance Blockchain Week Paris in September. She shared her interest in cryptocurrency and blockchain and also spoke with Cointelegraph about the immense opportunities provided by the technology. Sharapova discussed the interactive capabilities of blockchain technology that enable public figures to engage with fans. She underlined that blockchain had the capacity to empower various diverse demographics, including women, especially through finance.
2023 is likely to be an eventful year for Sharapova as she moves to diversify her investment portfolio and embrace opportunities offered by novel technologies, and she will likely continue supporting blockchain projects.
Sharapova has, in recent years, also shown interest in mainstream health and wellness projects and invested in startups such as Tonal, a home gym equipment provider, and Therabody, a wellness technology enterprise. Chances are she will continue supporting related ventures in 2023.
