Adelaide Oval, the iconic home of the Adelaide Crows, has taken a pioneering step in the Australian sports arena by becoming the first major stadium in the country to accept cryptocurrency payments. This milestone is achieved through a collaboration with Crypto.com, a leading brand renowned for its trusted payment solutions and commitment to regulatory compliance, security, and privacy, serving over 80 million customers worldwide.
Supported by Adelaide Oval, the Adelaide Crows, and financial systems software firm DataMesh, which provides the payment technology and terminals, this integration marks a world-first endeavour on a large scale. Starting from the AFL’s ‘Gather Round’ event on April 4, patrons at various food and drink outlets within Adelaide Oval can now make payments using Crypto.com. Customers opting to use cryptocurrency can select Crypto.com as their payment method at checkout, generating a dynamic QR code on the merchant terminal for scanning via the Crypto.com App, enabling payment authorization in the preferred cryptocurrency.
To celebrate this milestone, the first 1,000 transactions during the ‘Gather Round’ event will receive an AUD$10 cashback. Further promotions are anticipated throughout the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership Season and Adelaide Crows home games.
Karl Mohan, Crypto.com’s General Manager for APAC, emphasised the burgeoning adoption of cryptocurrency in Australia, lauding the user-friendly and scalable payment technology introduced at Adelaide Oval. As a major sponsor of the Adelaide Crows and the AFL, Mohan expressed enthusiasm for launching this trial during an active season.
Adelaide Crows CEO Tim Silvers hailed the innovative partnership with Crypto.com, highlighting the club’s commitment to delivering new initiatives to its members and fans, including enhanced payment options for game day purchases.
Mark Nagy, CEO of DataMesh, outlined their mission of breaking down traditional payment barriers and advancing the use of digital currencies. He underscored the seamless and secure nature of their cryptocurrency transaction technology, which, integrated with Echidna POS, empowers Crypto.com users to utilise their holdings for everyday transactions, ushering in a new era of crypto adoption.
This initiative follows a recent collaboration between Crypto.com, DataMesh, and OTR, resulting in the launch of Australia’s inaugural in-store cryptocurrency payments system across more than 440 Peregrines’ retail outlets. The trial of Crypto.com Pay is set to continue throughout the 2024 Toyota AFL Premiership Season, further driving the integration of cryptocurrency into mainstream transactions.