Perth Heat to pay players and staff in Bitcoin as part of new sponsorship agreement
Australian Baseball League team the Perth Heat say they will become the first club in professional sport to pay its players in Bitcoin as part of a new sponsorship agreement.
Key points:
- The Perth Heat said people could use Bitcoin to pay for food and drink at the ballpark
- Heat boss Steve Nelkovski said players and staff had fully embraced the new system
- The club has appointed a chief Bitcoin officer
The Heat will pay players and staff in Bitcoin, as well as accept Bitcoin for sponsorships, merchandise and even famed ballpark concessions like peanuts and crackerjacks.
The club has also appointed a chief Bitcoin officer to help move “the corporate treasury from dollars to Bitcoin”.
“This is not a one-off purchase to hedge against future uncertainties or inflationary pressures,” Patrick O’Sullivan said in a team statement.
“The Perth Heat are embracing the reality that the future of money and corporate treasuries will live on the Bitcoin blockchain.”
Heat chief executive Steve Nelkovski spoke vaguely about the “mindset that Bitcoin imparts” and how that “will be felt by our players, coaches, staff, and our loyal fan base”.
He said employees at the club “fully embraced the opportunities” that came with the move.
“By embracing the underlying values of the Bitcoin protocol we believe that the organisation can reach new levels of success both on and off the field and remind the world of the true value of sports,” he said.