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NBA team Dallas Mavericks to accept Bitcoin as payment

The Dallas Mavericks has become the second NBA franchise to accept Bitcoin as a method of payment for tickets and merchandise.

The news comes as part of a partnership with BitPay, who also made it possible for AT&T customers to pay their phone bills with Bitcoin in May.

BitPay confirmed the news on Twitter by writing: “Happy to have you in the #crypto game @dallasmavs.”

The Sacramento Kings was the first NBA team to accept Bitcoin as payment for tickets and sporting goods, adopting the payment method back in 2014 when Bitcoin was worth just $800.

Earlier this year, the Miami Dolphins also secured a partnership with Litecoin, with Charlie Lee’s project becoming the team’s “official cryptocurrency”.

On Monday, boxing legend Mike Tyson announced that he has signed a deal with the Fan Controlled Football League (FCFL). The deal will see him give away sporting memorabilia via Wax’s blockchain.

All of these steps by major sporting figures and teams will help drive mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies in the future.

Facebook’s announcement of its own native cryptocurrency, Libra Coin, has also added legitimacy to the digital asset ecosystem. It’s certainly a far cry from years ago when Bitcoin was touted as being a method of payment for illicit goods by institutions and the media.

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Oliver Knight

Londoner ‘Ollie’ graduated from Birmingham City University with a journalism degree in 2016. He combines his writing with his love of crypto and blockchain here at Coin Rivet, saying “It disrupts well-established institutions (banks) while giving an avenue to the less fortunate to achieve financial freedom.” Like all true Londoners, his pet hate is… “People standing on the left-hand side of the escalators on the Tube!”.