Cryptocurrency has slowly moved into the sports space in a way that some had predicted. There are a lot of unknowns around the industry, but it is something that is becoming increasingly popular in the United States and is already taking off elsewhere.
While fans make their Premier League predictions with a new season underway, they are finding out how popular the use of bitcoin is becoming.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are essentially virtual currencies that can be used how everyone else uses money. Except it exists exclusively in a virtual way, and every transaction is recorded in a blockchain, a public ledger.
Part of the hesitancies among people using cryptocurrency is that it is unregulated, and the peaks and valleys of buying bitcoin are something that makes headlines but people do not fully understand. So they just see the headlines as generally negative.
Teams Usage
Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus partnered with a blockchain platform in 2018, which was a big year for cryptocurrency’s growth in sports. A global investment platform, eToro, partnered with seven teams fans can make Premier League picks on in 2018, including Brighton & Hove Albion, Cardiff City, Crystal Palace, Leicester City, Newcastle United, Southampton, and Tottenham Hotspur.
The clubs promoted the company and were paid in bitcoin for the deals. Plenty of clubs are being asked to pay athletes in bitcoin, so they have to become more invested in the cryptocurrency space.
That includes the United States, where NBA guard Spencer Dinwiddie was among those who wanted to be paid in bitcoin. He was deemed an “entrepreneur and digital trailblazer” in a New York Post story from 2019.
That is when Dinwiddie signed a $34 million contract with the Brooklyn Nets, and he converted part of it into a digital investment deal that allowed him to be paid upfront. He essentially is selling stock in himself for more money; the Post put it. It is the first move of its kind in the National Basketball Association.
But other teams started promoting with companies in the cryptocurrency world. The Los Angeles Lakers sold their stadium naming rights to Crypto.com for $700 million over 20 years. It gives the crypto space name recognition with one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
FTX was once deemed the next big competitor in the crypto space. It had the naming rights to the Miami Heat and secured a sponsorship deal with a patch worn by all Major League Baseball umpires. But they lost the Heat naming rights, and the company was facing a class action lawsuit in the fall of 2022.
Move to the Digital Space?
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has also been at the forefront of the cryptocurrency movement in sports, and he doesn’t have connections to make Premier League predictions today or a team … yet.
In one of the most populous cities in the United States, sports fans have been able to pay in bitcoin for their tickets, concessions, merchandise, and more for five years. Dogecoin has also become popular among Cubans and the Mavs.
He struck a deal with Voyager Digital, a publicly traded cryptocurrency platform, that lasted five years. The company specializes in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and offered a $100 reward for fans if they deposited $100. The deal was done at a time of crypto downturn, but that didn’t stop Cuban, who is focused on the future.
Trading for Fans
While bitcoin, dogecoin, and other cryptocurrencies are becoming popular, particularly among younger generations, there are other ways that sports fans can enter the digital space. While trading cards have been wildly popular, particularly with the COVID-19 pandemic giving others something to do, the digital form of trading cards is growing in popularity.
Fans can buy NFTs – a non-fungible token – that are essentially a collection of highlights by a specific player. It is like trading cards in that the packs are randomized and can be purchased for many. There are different collections that come with rewards, member points, and other items to get people to invest more over time.
But instead of getting a physical card to hold and take care of, it is instead a numbered highlight that lives in the virtual world. It is crazy to see how sports are progressing in the digital space.
