Bitcoin has become a trendy topic in today’s world.
A few years after its inception, Bitcoin has finally entered the sports industry to demonstrate its potential and power.
The advent of Bitcoin in sports has influenced various aspects of the industry.
It ranges from changing the contracts and salaries of athletes to serving as a mode of purchase for tickets and merchandise.
Bitcoin has also taken a significant grasp over the sports world as it is now an accepted form of payment for placing bets on sports events, like NFL draft betting odds.
Winning Back A Lost Generation
The primary aim of the major sports leagues is to attract a young audience. GenZ, an age group of people growing up using smartphones and the internet, is the target audience for these leagues.
Not only are they always engaged with social media and games, but they are also Bitcoin enthusiasts.
But according to the NY Times, not all Gen Zers are sports enthusiasts.
Only 23 per cent of them are passionate about sports. Comparing this with the 31 per cent baby boomers, 33 per cent GenZers, and 42 per cent millennials, you will realize why GenZ is a core demographic for the sports industry.
The chances of GenZers believing crypto to be the future is high.
Moreover, GenZ and millennials are the majority of buyers when it comes to crypto. About 94 per cent of them own cryptocurrencies.
They truly comprehend the essence of digital currency in this fast-paced digital era.
By incorporating cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, the sports industry wants to indicate that they understand the beliefs and ideologies of the youth.
It has become a way for the sports industry, including the sports betting industry, to show the future fan base that they’re on board with them.
The Rise of Fan Tokens
Although the ICO movement has crashed, the notion of sports clubs providing unique tokens to their fans stayed. If you look around the biggest sports clubs in the world, such as FC Barcelona, they all come with their tokens (e.g., Bitcoin tokens) for their fans.
These tokens can be used to win rewards, vote on forthcoming decisions for the club, buy merchandise, and more.
Nevertheless, the main aim of these clubs behind all these tokens is to build a strong community. It intends to welcome fans to engage with them, use their Bitcoin, and contribute to group decisions.
Thus, Bitcoin does not only play a key role in gambling and sports betting but also in establishing stronger communities, and it is used as a mode of payment for players who want to accept them.
Increase In Athletes Investing In Bitcoin
Athletes now realize the growing importance of Bitcoin in today’s digital world and thus have started to invest in it.
Maybe their realization of the power and autonomy of Smart Contracts is what drives them to invest. Moreover, they may have started to invest more in Bitcoin because they are always advised to invest a certain percentage of their income.
A Surge In Sports Fan Engagement & Sponsorship Opportunities
More and more sports teams are now switching to Bitcoin as one of their approaches to fostering fan engagement.
Today, most fans are online and tend to show their support online too. Thus, such a fanbase often consumes content like match highlights or watching videos on their favorite sports or sports teams.
By leveraging blockchain technology, these sports teams can monitor every transaction and interaction with fans.
This will help them reward fans who highly engage in different activities with Bitcoin tokens. By giving Bitcoin tokens as a reward, these teams can win fan loyalty and boost revenue via sponsorship.
With tokens as a way to demonstrate value, recording and identifying which players are most valuable and profitable for sponsorship contracts becomes easier.
It tells which players have a high chance of getting signed.
Final Word
With the presence of Bitcoin everywhere in the sports industry, it is quite evident that crypto is the future of sports. From player payments and merchandise purchases to rewarding fans and placing bets, Bitcoin has its uses everywhere.