WhiteBIT announces a historic offer to Hajduk: Nosov wants a major sponsorship at Poljud
Ukrainian entrepreneur Volodymyr Nosov, founder of WhiteBIT and one of the most prominent figures in the European crypto industry, announced that a sponsorship offer will be sent to Hajduk, which he described as the largest in the history of the Split club. According to reports by Slobodna Dalmacija and Sportske novosti from June 15, 2026, Nosov arrived in Croatia on Monday, where he met with Ivica Pirić, a former Hajduk player and honorary consul of Ukraine in Croatia. The same reports state that the formal offer to Poljud should be submitted within two days, meaning around June 17, 2026, if the announced schedule is fulfilled. The amount, duration and specific rights that WhiteBIT would seek in return have not yet been officially announced, so the financial scale of the project can only be discussed cautiously. By the time the available reports were concluded, there had been no official confirmation from Hajduk that the offer had been received, nor any comment on possible negotiations.
The announcement attracted attention because WhiteBIT has already established itself in football sponsorship through collaborations with major European clubs and national-team football. In April 2026, FC Barcelona announced that WhiteBIT had extended its status as its official cryptocurrency partner until 2030, while Juventus announced in June 2025 that WhiteBIT was becoming the official cryptocurrency partner and sleeve sponsor of the men’s first-team jersey for several seasons. The Ukrainian Football Association also lists WhiteBIT as a partner, and in January 2026 it announced the continuation of cooperation with the Ukrainian national team. Such a portfolio suggests that the announcement concerning Hajduk is not an isolated marketing move, but a possible continuation of a broader strategy of connecting the technology and sports sectors. Still, negotiations with Hajduk, if they take place, will unfold in the specific institutional and supporter environment of the Split club.
An announcement that opens negotiating and governance questions
According to a statement published in Croatian media, Nosov said that WhiteBIT does not want to be merely a classic sponsor, but a partner that would help Hajduk move closer to the top of Croatian football. Ivica Pirić, according to the same reports, emphasized that the aim of the offer is directed toward the ambition for Hajduk to become Croatian champion. Such messages have clear marketing power, but for the club the decisive factors are the details that are still unknown: what the annual amount would be, how long the contract would last, whether it would relate to the main shirt, digital activations, infrastructure projects, the academy or a broader package of commercial rights. In professional football, the largest sponsorships are rarely just a payment of money; they include brand visibility, business obligations, fan activations and reputational conditions for both sides. For that reason, any eventual offer will become important only when its full content is seen, not merely the announced headline about a historic amount.
It is especially important to distinguish a sponsorship agreement from ownership or managerial entry into the club. The available statements refer to sponsorship, not to the acquisition of shares, while some media comments also mention the issue of possible influence on club structures. Hajduk is a sports joint-stock company, and according to publicly available business data citing SKDD, the largest shareholders include the City of Split and the association Naš Hajduk. The club’s official website states that the Management Board consists of president Ivan Bilić and members Marinka Akrap and Zlatko Žuro, while the Supervisory Board includes, among others, Ljubo Pavasović Visković, Josip Babić, Branimir Britvić, Damir Dominiković and Frano Belohradsky. This means that any arrangement that would move into the zone of managerial influence would necessarily open a broader discussion among the club’s bodies, shareholders and membership. If it is exclusively a commercial sponsorship, the key questions would be financial benefit, reputational risk, compliance with regulations and the long-term sustainability of obligations.
Who WhiteBIT is and why the Croatian licence matters
WhiteBIT describes itself on its own website as one of the largest European cryptocurrency exchanges by web traffic and states that it was founded in 2018 and is part of the wider W Group ecosystem. In its communication, the company highlights collaborations with international partners, including sports clubs and technology brands, and uses football as one of the main channels of global visibility. In that context, Hajduk, if an agreement were reached, would represent entry into a club with an exceptionally strong local fan base, great national reach and a stadium that has had symbolic importance in Croatian sport for decades. For WhiteBIT, such a contract could also have an additional market dimension, especially after space for business related to crypto-assets was formally opened with the Croatian regulator. For Hajduk, on the other hand, the arrival of a strong international sponsor could mean a new level of commercial revenue, but also the need for a careful assessment of the partner’s reputational profile.
The Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency announced on April 23, 2026, that it had approved the Zagreb company WHITE TECH to operate as a provider of services related to crypto-assets in accordance with the MiCA regulation and the Croatian implementing law. According to Hanfa, the authorisation covers the exchange of crypto-assets for money, the exchange of one crypto-asset for another, the transfer of crypto-assets on behalf of clients, and the custody and administration of crypto-assets on behalf of clients. Hanfa also stated that WHITE TECH will be entered in the register of entities authorised to provide those services and that, in that part of its business, it will be under its supervision. That information is important for context because it shows that, in parallel with a possible sporting cooperation, a regulatory presence connected with WhiteBIT’s ecosystem is also being built on the Croatian market. The European MiCA framework has further tightened the rules for crypto-service providers, which means that such companies in the European Union are increasingly viewed through the prism of licensing, supervision and user protection.
Hajduk’s financial context and the importance of a major sponsor
In April 2026, Hajduk announced that the audited annual financial report for 2025 was available in accordance with the Croatian Football Federation’s club licensing regulations. Publicly available business data for HNK Hajduk s.d.d. for 2025 indicate a positive result and revenue growth compared with the previous period, while the club itself announced the availability of the audited report within the licensing framework. Such data show that Hajduk is not only a sporting entity but also a medium-sized company whose development increasingly relies on tickets, membership, merchandise sales, transfers, television rights and sponsorship agreements. In that model, a larger commercial partner can significantly change budgetary possibilities, especially if funds can be planned over several seasons. A stable multi-year sponsorship agreement is often more valuable than a one-off injection because it enables the club to plan wages, transfers, infrastructure and the academy more precisely.
Still, a financial injection by itself does not guarantee sporting results. In football, new revenues must be transformed into better management, improved player selection, professional continuity and a clear development strategy. If Hajduk accepted a major offer from WhiteBIT, the key issue would be how the funds would be distributed among the first team, the youth academy, infrastructure, digital projects and long-term financial stability. Clubs that suddenly rely on one major partner can increase their ambitions, but also their exposure if the contract ends or if the partner changes its business strategy. That is why it would be important for Hajduk that any eventual agreement not be viewed only through the amount, but also through its duration, protective clauses, reputational standards and the possibility for commercial growth to remain aligned with the club’s identity.
The supporter model and the sensitivity of every major decision
Hajduk’s special character in Croatian football stems from the strong role of members, supporter mobilisation and a shareholding structure in which the City of Split has a majority package and the association Naš Hajduk holds a large minority stake. For that reason, every major business decision at Poljud takes on a broader social dimension than it would have in a club with a private owner and centralised decision-making. A sponsorship that brings significant money could be accepted as an opportunity to strengthen the team and the club, but any indication of conditions tied to governance changes would likely provoke debate. According to the available information, it has not yet been officially confirmed that the announced offer includes such conditions, so it would be irresponsible to claim that WhiteBIT is seeking managerial influence. But precisely because of earlier media reports and the specific nature of Hajduk’s model, transparency in any eventual negotiations will be one of the main prerequisites for public trust.
For supporters and members, the most important question will be the compatibility of the potential partner with the values and long-term interest of the club. In recent years, the crypto sector has gone through strong regulatory changes, growth, market declines and increased supervision, so sports clubs entering partnerships with such companies must carefully assess financial stability, legal status and reputational risk. On the other hand, sponsorships from the technology sector have become a common part of elite sport, especially when they include digital communication with fans, global visibility and new commercial channels. In such an arrangement, Hajduk could gain access to new forms of market activation, but only if the project is shaped in a way that does not undermine the fundamental relationship between the club and its members. That very balance could be decisive in assessing any offer that arrives at Poljud.
What the contract could mean for Croatian football
If Hajduk and WhiteBIT reached an agreement at the level announced by Nosov, it would be one of the most prominent commercial deals in Croatian club football in recent years. Croatian clubs traditionally have more limited commercial revenues than clubs in the richest European leagues, so any larger international sponsor can change the balance of investment, visibility and ambition. Such a contract could also increase pressure on other clubs to develop their own sponsorship models, especially toward the technology, financial and international markets. At the same time, a major contract with a company from the crypto sector would require caution because sports sponsorships in that field in Europe are often subject to heightened regulatory and public attention. Success would therefore depend on whether the agreement is financially clear, legally solid and communicatively transparent.
For Hajduk, the greatest benefit would be a predictable increase in revenue without selling key players, which is often a decisive challenge for clubs from smaller leagues. Commercial revenues that are not directly tied to transfers can enable greater budget resilience and reduce the pressure to sell young or most valuable players at an unfavourable moment. But such a benefit exists only if the contract is realistically collectible, if it does not carry disproportionate obligations and if it fits into the sporting plan. In Croatian football, financial stability is often just as important as short-term strengthening of the squad, so any eventual agreement with WhiteBIT would have to be viewed over several seasons, not only through the effect of a single transfer campaign. That is precisely why the key moment will be the publication of the specific terms, not merely the announcement of interest.
The next steps depend on the official offer
According to information published on June 15, 2026, WhiteBIT should send Hajduk an offer within two days, after which the club could open a formal assessment. In such a procedure, it would normally analyse the financial amount, duration, rights to use the name and visual identity, promotional obligations, tax and regulatory aspects and reputational risks. Since this is an entity from the crypto industry, additional weight would be given to checking compliance with European and Croatian rules, including the status of WHITE TECH under Hanfa’s supervision. The Management Board and Supervisory Board of Hajduk, according to the club’s current organisational structure, would be the logical addresses for considering such an offer, with the expected interest of shareholders and members. Only after the offer is officially submitted and presented will it be possible to assess whether this is a deal that can change the club’s financial framework or an ambitious announcement that still has to pass complex scrutiny.
At this moment, the most precise thing to say is that WhiteBIT has publicly announced a major sponsorship move toward Hajduk, but that the contract has not been confirmed. Nosov’s arrival in Croatia and his meeting with Ivica Pirić give the announcement additional weight, but the decision rests with the club and its bodies. If the offer is indeed submitted on June 17, 2026, or in the days after that, the discussion will move from general ambitions to specific figures and conditions. For Hajduk, this could be a moment in which it must weigh a rare financial opportunity, its governance model and the expectations of the supporter community. Until then, the question remains open as to whether the announced largest sponsorship offer in the club’s history will become an actual contract or merely the beginning of negotiations with an uncertain outcome.
Sources:
- Slobodna Dalmacija / Sportske novosti – report on the arrival of Volodymyr Nosov in Croatia, the meeting with Ivica Pirić and the announcement of a sponsorship offer to Hajduk (link)
- Index Sport – confirmation of the announcement and context of possible negotiations between WhiteBIT and Hajduk (link)
- Croatian Financial Services Supervisory Agency – authorisation granted to WHITE TECH to provide services related to crypto-assets under the MiCA regulation (link)
- FC Barcelona – official announcement on the extension of the partnership with WhiteBIT until 2030 (link)
- Juventus FC – official announcement on the partnership with WhiteBIT as sleeve sponsor and official cryptocurrency partner (link)
- Ukrainian Football Association – information on the continuation of WhiteBIT’s cooperation with the Ukrainian national football team (link)
- HNK Hajduk Split – official information on the club’s organisational structure (link)
- HNK Hajduk Split – publication of the audited financial report for 2025 (link)
- Fininfo – publicly available business data on HNK Hajduk s.d.d., including ownership structure according to SKDD (link)
- WhiteBIT – official description of the company, business ecosystem and international partnerships (link)