Aussie basketball team the South East Melbourne Phoenix has made a groundbreaking cryptocurrency move.
The South East Melbourne Phoenix has become the first Australian basketball team to accept cryptocurrency as payment for memberships, sponsorships and corporate packages.
The club hopes the move, announced on Monday, will allow it to “take advantage of the growth of cryptocurrency and set the Phoenix up for success well into the future”.
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“With the tremendous growth and relevancy of cryptocurrency during this tech boom, we felt it made sense to introduce cryptocurrency as an option for our fans to pay for their night out,” Phoenix owner Romie Chaudhari said.
“Our organisation is always working to stay ahead of the curve.”
The Phoenix’s move follows on from West Australian baseball team the Perth Heat announcing last month it would give its players and staff the option to be paid in bitcoin.
Like the Phoenix, the Heat announced memberships and sponsorships could also be purchased with cryptocurrency.
The Heat’s initiative was believed to be a world-first for professional sport.
One of the NBL’s heavyweights, the Phoenix won its first game of the 2021/22 season on Saturday, comfortably accounting for the New Zealand Breakers at John Cain Arena.
The win also marked the NBL debut of superstar Chinese import Zhou Qi, who was given a warm reception by the Melbourne crowd.
The 216cm-tall former Houston Rockets centre finished his maiden NBL hitout with eight points, five rebounds and three blocks to his name.
The Breakers have the chance to avenge the 89-65 loss when the sides meet again on Friday. Their coach, Dan Shamir, will be back on deck for the game after recovering from Covid-19.
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