The Oakland Athletics Major League Baseball (MLB) team is now accepting payments of Bitcoin (BTC) for home-game luxury suites. This follows a larger trend of cryptocurrency and NFT adoption in the sports world.
The Oakland Athletics (A’s) is selling six-person suites for its 2021 home games at the cost of 1 BTC. This follows a growing trend of bitcoin and cryptocurrency adoption in sports.
Grab your crew and catch an A's game at the Coliseum this season! Six-person suites are on sale now for 2021 home games: https://t.co/WLgaX39RF1 pic.twitter.com/nhSp8XiYX3
— Athletics (@Athletics) March 14, 2021
The luxury seating suites can fit up to six people and include a variety of amenities. The offer is available until April 1, 2021, and interested buyers must contact the association directly.
“We invite our fans to become the first bitcoin suite holders in sports. We’re excited to be one of a handful of teams to accept cryptocurrency for payment and the first to price tickets in crypto instead of U.S. currency. The price of a season suite may fluctuate depending on when it’s purchased, which adds to the excitement!” - Dave Kaval, Oakland Athletics President
Other sports teams, especially in America, are have been rushing to integrate Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. Mark Cuban’s Dallas Mavericks also accept bitcoin for tickets and merchandise as well as offering other blockchain-based collectibles. These entities stand to gain a lot from holding bitcoin, given its meteoric rise in the past few months.
Sports Brands Keen on NFTs
NFTs are another major development seeing great adoption among sports teams. The most high-profile of these is the NBA’s decision to have video highlight “moments” integrated with NFTs. Users can pay for these and have exclusive rights to the highlight. Venture capitalist David Pakman, who is behind the NBA Top Shots program, believes that “every major entertainment company” will consider NFTs. He mentioned popular global IPs like Star Wars and Harry Potter in his enthusiastic argument for NFTs.
Some blockchain projects are completely dedicated to the sports domain. A project has partnered up with the likes of AC Milan, Barcelona and Juventus to sell tickets and merchandise to ardent fans. The team-based tokens offer fans several benefits, including exclusive offers. However, cryptocurrencies are also increasingly being used in the field of eSports, as demonstrated by the Japanese company SBI e-Sports.
