The Perth Heat, one of the most successful Australian Baseball teams, has announced that it is planning to “operate on the Bitcoin standard.” This follows its partnership with Bitcoin payment processing company OpenNode to accept and make payments in Bitcoin.
According to the club’s statement, the partnership allows players and staff to be paid in Bitcoin. It is also expected to accept Bitcoin payments for merchandise, sponsorships, and ballpark concessions on match days. The club will receive and send Bitcoin payments over the Lightning Network.
The club is looking towards a long term commitment to mainstream Bitcoin adoption. This is evident from Bitcoin-branded merchandise displayed on the official website.
Speaking to the Guardian Australia, club CEO, Steven Nelkovski confirmed that it’s the first time a sports club has decided to go to the Bitcoin standard. He also confirmed that even though Bitcoin payments were not mandatory, all current employees were on board with it.
The club allows players and staff the liberty to choose their payment options. Those who would not wish to receive payments through Bitcoin can continue to receive their salaries through the traditional channel. The club also allows individuals to receive a hybrid payment form; partial bitcoin and partial traditional salary.
The CEO believes that embracing Bitcoin will inspire other sports entities to join them. The club has already created a new position of Chief Bitcoin Officer to facilitate the shift from the dollar structure to the new cryptocurrency operations.
According to the new Bitcoin officer, Patrick O’Sullivan, the club is looking to secure its digital property rights on the secure monetary network and will reinvest all available capital into Bitcoin. He went on to say, “This is not a one-off purchase to hedge against future uncertainties or inflationary pressures. The Perth Heat are embracing the reality that the future of money and corporate treasuries will live on the Bitcoin blockchain.”
What does Perth Heat embracing Bitcoin mean to the Australian crypto landscape?
American sports are right now familiar with Bitcoin payments. Several sports clubs have already allowed players to elect whether to get paid half of their salary in Bitcoin or all in the form of traditional dollars. On these occasions, it was the players who initiated the move. This is different from Perth Heat’s case where the move to Bitcoin operations is sanctioned by the top hierarchy.
As one of the most successful baseball clubs in Australia, embracing Bitcoin will impact the club and the crypto community as a whole. Nelkovski believes Bitcoin adoption will enable the organisation to reach new levels of success on and off the pitch.
The club’s Bitcoin move also reflects that of the country’s digital currencies. The Australian senate committee has called for an overhaul of the country’s crypto legislation and licensing to help make the country a crypto hub.
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) recently released guidelines to allow trading of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. A study also established that more than 50% of Aussies are open to trying out digital currencies.
By adopting Bitcoin, Perth Heat has made a major move that will inspire other clubs, institutional investors and individuals to invest in digital currencies.