The California-based National Hockey League team, San Jose Sharks have announced that they will now accept cryptocurrencies as payments through the BitPay payment service. The development will take effect starting in October, when the 2021-2022 NHL season begins.
With this announcement, the San Jose Sharks hockey team has set a new record of being the first-ever National Hockey League team to take this huge step.
For now, though, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE) will only be accepted as payments for season tickets, suite leases, and partnerships.
According to Jonathan Becher, president of the San Jose Sharks team, the ability to use crypto for smaller purchases like individual game passes, merchandise, and concessions “will be evaluated over time.”
PayPal’s decision last year, which involved allowing users of its mobile service payment app Venmo to manage cryptocurrencies, was said to have greatly influenced the Sharks’ decision.
Bacher felt that since the Sharks hockey team accepted PayPal as a payment service, and PayPal now receives cryptocurrencies, all they needed to do was balance the equation by accepting cryptocurrencies as well.
“We’re accepting PayPal, so then by definition, we’re accepting cryptocurrency. Why not embrace it and make it more visible as opposed to just doing it through a third party?”, Becher stated.
It does not stop here though.
Bacher further mentioned that the team could also consider selling additional blockchain-based goods like collectible NFTs, showing that they are really interested in what cryptocurrencies have to offer.
Expressing his thoughts on what he feels cryptocurrencies have in store for sports, he concluded: “I do think the blockchain will have more of an impact on sports…than people realize.”
With respect to cryptocurrencies having an impact on sports, Coinfomania recently reported that members of the basketball team, Sacramento Kings, can now choose to receive part or all of their salary payments in Bitcoin.
