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Why Jewell Loyd backs a crypto future for the WNBA

(Joshua Huston/NBAE via Getty Images)

When Coinbase became the official crypto platform of the WNBA last October, most teams and athletes had a lot to learn about the company’s products and services. Coinbase partnered with the WNBA Players Association to provide draft invitees with financial training and open accounts for all 144 players in an effort to bring crypto to the fingertips of women and fans across the country.

For Jewell Loyd, the landscape wasn’t new. The Seattle Storm guard and four-time WNBA All-Star has been active in the crypto economy for years.

“Investments in other things like real estate along with crypto is something I’ve been doing since around 2013 with my brother,” Loyd said.

Loyd is not your typical 28-year-old investor. While growing up in Illinois, Loyd learned about the stock market from her grandfather and other mentors, and she received a crash course on the economy through a program at her middle school.

“They taught us how to apply for jobs, how to pay taxes, what taxes are. You even had to pay for your desk. Everything you would have to pay for in real life, you had to pay for in school,” she recalled.

“They were teaching us how to save money. You could pick up two or three jobs, just to see how real-life works. At the end of the year, you would say ‘How come I only have 20 bucks? How come this person had a dollar? How come this person has $500?’ They basically broke things down, what it means to make a dollar and how to invest.”

At Niles West High School, where Loyd scored over 3,000 points as a four-year starter on the basketball team, she also took investment classes. She and a partner would be tasked with checking the market online, trading stocks and explaining their investment choices to the class.

“It was engraved in us in school,” she said.

So, when Coinbase signed on as a partner of the WNBA in 2021, Loyd jumped at the opportunity to be an ambassador and take part of her salary in crypto.

While Loyd is at the forefront of using her platform to set an example in crypto investing, fans may be yearning to learn more about the service from more of their favorite WNBA superstars.

A peer-to-peer financial system, crypto allows individuals to exchange funds directly through the internet, loosening many of the restrictions of traditional finance and banking systems. Now you can buy, sell, trade and stake your assets with just a few clicks.

Loyd, who plays both overseas and in the U.S. like many WNBA players, is a fan of the financial freedom crypto offers her.

“If I go into a bank, I want to open an account, and there’s all this paperwork and stuff to do. And then if you take this specific money out, you get fined. What? It’s my money,” Loyd said. “Now, I go on Coinbase, I get my money out. It shouldn’t be that complicated to get your money. You have so many loopholes with certain banks. In my mind, that doesn’t make sense.

“It’s freedom, understanding and probably a little bit of love. I feel I get all three of those things using crypto.”

Loyd feels fortunate that she had a background in investing when she entered the WNBA in 2015 as Seattle’s first overall draft pick. She remembers sitting through a meeting on draft day, when a league rep walked the players through their retirement funds but didn’t spend much time teaching them how to invest.

She’s sensed a different mentality in the year since the WNBA partnered with Coinbase, as more players take initiative with their long-term financial strategy. Loyd’s former Storm teammate, Sue Bird, has been one of the leading voices of other products and services crypto has to offer. Through Coinbase, investors can not only buy and sell cryptocurrencies, but they can also exchange NFTs and store crypto in their own personal wallets, among other things.

“I think with this last year,” Loyd said, “people are trying to learn and understand this since this is the way things are going and people don’t want to be passed by.”

“We think the future of money is here with crypto,” said Jessica Williams, Coinbase’s Director of Brand Partnerships & Experiential. “Coinbase will continue to focus on our suite of products and platform, which are all tools that currently over 100M people use daily to buy, sell and manage crypto.”

Loyd has found confidence in crypto through experience. She’s hopeful that even more WNBA players will get there, too, now that the league and teams like Seattle are offering educational programs and tools to participate.

“As you’re investing, you’re also learning,” she said. “Being educated in what you’re investing in helps a lot and I want to see more, whether it’s the rookies coming in and getting a quick Coinbase lesson from the start. As rookies, we only learned about the investments of retirement.”

In recent months, the rapid rise of cryptocurrency has led to economic volatility and skepticism among the public. Loyd doesn’t see this as an issue, but rather a chance for her to help usher in a new financial tool and leave a permanent mark on the global market.

“I think a lot of people, especially women, are nervous about it. They don’t know what it is,” Loyd said. “For me, I’ve gone into meetings and people ask, ‘Oh, you know about crypto?’ Yeah, I’m a woman and an athlete and I know about crypto. It’s a cool thing for women to understand what it is, to sit in these seats in sports leagues and have another edge to them. Not just, ‘I’m here because they put me here,’ but ‘I can talk the language and know what’s going on.’”

For Loyd, whose own financial background is rooted in family and community, crypto is about more than monetary gains. It’s also a source of equality and other values she believes in at her core.

“Coinbase is meant for everybody. It’s hard to find something in the world that’s for everybody,” Loyd said. “Having the ability to teach this, to help people understand this, you are educating them, but also giving them something they can use for the rest of their lives. That’s impactful to me. This world isn’t equal, but this allows money, understanding and finances to be equal.”

Daniel Newton is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports.

US Tennis Stars Advance as Wimbledon Field Narrows

Italy's Jasmine Paolini celebrates her first-round win over Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships
World No. 4 Jasmine Paolini fell in the second round of the 2025 Wimbledon Championships on Wednesday. (Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images)

The 2025 Wimbledon Championships wrapped its second round on Thursday, with the grass court Grand Slam seeing just 15 of the tournament's 32 seeded players advance to the Friday and Saturday's third round.

A full half of the WTA's Top 10 players did not survive the week, with 2024 Wimbledon finalist and world No. 5 Jasmine Paolini joining four first-round star exits by falling to unseeded Kamilla Rakhimova in a three-set, second-round battle on Wednesday.

At the same time, unseeded fan favorites like Japan's No. 53 Naomi Osaka and England's own No. 40 Emma Raducanu secured third-round spots at the London Slam, joining top surviving contenders like No. 4 Iga Świątek and defending Wimbledon champion No. 16 Barbora Krejčíková.

Notably, a full five US players managed to move ahead, tied for the largest national contingent still standing at the tournament.

Led by 2025 Australian Open champion No. 8 Madison Keys, the US group also includes No. 10 Emma Navarro and No. 12 Amanda Anisimova, as well as unseeded players No. 54 Danielle Collins and No. 55 Hailey Baptiste.

With matches against Świątek and No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, respectively, Collins and Baptiste have a tough third round ahead — though Navarro's battle against the 2024 champ Krejčíková arguably headlines Saturday's slate.

US tennis star Emma Navarro eyes a return during a 2025 Wimbledon match.
US star Emma Navarro will face 2024 champ Barbora Krejčíková in Wimbledon's Round of 32. (Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

How to watch Wimbledon this weekend

While world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is still holding strong in the dwindling field, this year's Wimbledon play is proving that the London Slam is anyone's to take, as the grass court humbles even the sport's top stars.

Expect the twists and turns to continue as tennis's best battle for spots in Sunday's Round of 16.

Round-of-32 Wimbledon play kicks off at 6 AM ET on Friday, with live continuous coverage of the tournament airing on ESPN.

Finland Opens Women’s Euro 2025 with Upset Upset Win Over Iceland

Finland's Katariina Kosola and Emma Koivisto celebrate a goal during their opening 2025 Euro match.
Finland earned a surprise 1-0 win over Iceland in their 2025 Euro opener on Wednesday. (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)

The 2025 European Championship is officially underway, as Euro action kicked off with a group-stage upset on Wednesday.

Though the 2025 UEFA tournament's opener was a sweltering affair amid a European heat wave, world No. 26 Finland prevailed, earning a 1-0 upset win over No. 14 Iceland in Group A.

Finnish winger Katariina Kosola played hero, curling in the winning goal in the match's 70th minute — just 12 minutes after Iceland midfielder Hildur Antonsdóttir picked up the competition's first red card.

"The result is important for our confidence," Kosola said after Finland's first major tournament win since the 2009 Euro. "It was the kind of goal I have been practicing a lot."

"It's terrible to lose and we feel frustrated," said Iceland head coach Thorsteinn Halldórsson. "It is an even group and we knew Finland were good, but our first half wasn't good enough."

Elsewhere, No. 16 Norway closed out Wednesday's slate on top of Group A, taking three points by defeating host No. 23 Switzerland in day's second match.

Led by captain and 2018 Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg — who pulled the match even with a second-half strike — Norway battled to a 2-1 comeback win, despite the Swiss side outshooting and out-possessing the Norwegians.

Spain jersey hang in lockers ahead of the team's 2025 Euro opening match against Portugal.
Reigning World Cup champions Spain will open their 2025 Euro account against Portugal. (Aitor Alcalde - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

How to watch this week's 2025 Euro action

Group B steals the 2025 Euro spotlight on Thursday.

While No. 13 Italy snagged a 1-0 opening win over No. 20 Belgium to kick off the day, 2023 World Cup champions and tournament favorite No. 2 Spain will face No. 22 Portugal at 3 PM ET.

Friday's Group C slate will pit No. 12 Denmark against No. 6 Sweden at 12 PM ET, before No. 3 Germany contends with No. 27 Poland at 3 PM ET.

Closing out the first group-stage matches will be arguably the toughest draw of the 2025 Euro pool.

Saturday's Group D slate features major tournament debutants No. 30 Wales against the No. 11 Netherlands at 12 PM ET, with No. 10 France taking on defending champions No. 5 England to cap the day at 3 PM ET.

Live coverage of 2025 Euro matches will air across Fox Sports platforms.

USWNT Caps Summer Friendlies with 3-0 Canada Shutout

Yazmeen Ryan, Michelle Cooper, Claire Hutton, Mandy McGlynn, and Izzy Rodriguez and the rest of the USWNT huddle after their July 2025 friendly win over Canada.
The USWNT finished the summer international window with 11 goals, conceding none, across three matches. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)

The world No. 1 USWNT ruled the pitch on Wednesday night, shutting out North American rivals No. 8 Canada 3-0 to finish the international window on a high note.

Catching the Canada backline sleeping, US midfielder Sam Coffey opened the scoring at the 17-minute mark before 19-year-old Claire Hutton claimed her first-ever USWNT goal by heading in a Rose Lavelle corner kick in the game's 36th minute.

Houston Dash forward Yazmeen Ryan then padded the US tally in the waning minutes of the match, finding the back of the net just eight minutes after subbing onto the field.

Despite fielding a young roster, the US overpowered a veteran-heavy Canada side in almost every category, topping their Northern neighbors in shots, shots on target, possession, and — most notably — set pieces.

Canada ultimately couldn't match the game's mental pace or physical battle, as the USWNT scored all three goals off dead ball situations — a free kick, a corner kick, and a throw-in.

"It's not about the opponent," US head coach Emma Hayes said after the match. "It's about what we do, and I felt that was extremely dominant."

With Wednesday's contributions, the USWNT finishes the summer window with 11 goals scored across the three friendlies — and zero goals conceded.

The US now enters an extended break before reconvening for another as-yet-unannounced friendly series in October — but players will be expected to perform in the meantime.

"I said to the players in the end in the huddle, if you want to compete to win the biggest things, it's not what you do here that matters," said Hayes. "It's what you do when you go back to your club."

Seattle Storm Looks to Climb the WNBA Standings in Weekend Gauntlet

Seattle Storm star Nneka Ogwumike high-fives teammates as she's introduced before a 2025 WNBA game.
The No. 5 Seattle Storm will face No. 4 Atlanta and No. 3 New York this weekend. (Soobum Im/NBAE via Getty Images)

The 2025 WNBA regular season returns on Thursday night, with teams at the top of the league standings looking to prove their mettle against close competition across the long holiday weekend.

The No. 5 Seattle Storm have arguably the toughest weekend assignments, taking on the No. 4 Atlanta Dream on Friday before tackling the No. 3 New York Liberty on Sunday.

Four middle-of-the-pack teams will look to close in on a double-digit season win tally while the league's frontrunners strive to maintain their advantage in this weekend's slate:

  • No. 7 Las Vegas Aces vs. No. 8 Indiana Fever, Thursday at 7 PM ET (Prime): Though still without star Caitlin Clark, the Fever hope to harness their 2025 WNBA Commissioner's Cup victory momentum against an Aces side tied with Indiana with an 8-8 season record.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 4 Atlanta Dream, Thursday at 7:30 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): Seattle will look to make strides against a strong Atlanta side while putting last Sunday's stinging 84-57 loss to up-and-comer Golden State in their rearview.
  • No. 6 Golden State Valkyries vs. No. 1 Minnesota Lynx, Saturday at 8 PM ET (WNBA League Pass): The rising Valkyries must face a Lynx side hunting redemption, as the league-leaders look to bounce back from their stifling Tuesday Commissioner's Cup upset loss.
  • No. 5 Seattle Storm vs. No. 3 New York Liberty, Sunday at 1 PM ET (CBS): With injured Liberty center Jonquel Jones still sidelined, the Seattle Storm will have a chance to steal a weekend game against the reigning champs, as New York struggles to re-find their footing.

With the 2025 WNBA All-Star break looming, early top performers must keep standards high if they want to hold the line when the season crosses the midway point.

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