A new sponsorship deal with a billionaire Bitcoin broker will see one hockey club’s arena in Denmark rebranded to promote cryptocurrencies and its top player (the son of one of the owners) paid exclusively in Bitcoin, a volatile digital coin that has skyrocketed in value over the past few months.
On Dec. 27, Bitcoin Suisse, a Swiss cryptocurrency broker, will overtake the Danish traditional bank Saxo Privatbank as the main sponsor of the hockey team Rungsted Seier Capital (DK). As part of the three-year deal, Rungsted Arena will be renamed to Bitcoin Arena.
According to Bitcoin Suisse, this is the first time a crypto-financial company has sponsored a national premier league professional sports team.
Also a part of the deal, Rungsted Seier star athlete Nikolaj Rosenthal, the son of one of the team’s owners, Finn Rosenthal, will switch from the traditional salary payments in Danish Kroner to being paid exclusively in Bitcoin, which marks the first time a pro athlete has gone all-in on cryptocurrency for their salary.
Nikolaj Rosenthal has a business degree from Copenhagen Business School and has co-founded two companies since starting his career as a professional hockey player in 2013, including the clothing brand Savvy Copenhagen and Are U Eating, an app that seeks to reduce food waste within businesses.
In a statement, Bitcoin Suisse said it hopes the 26-year-old athlete’s switch paves the way “for others in and outside of the world of professional sports to do the same.”
At a gala kicking off the sponsorship deal next week, team owners Finn Rosenthal and Lars Seier Christensen will unveil the arena’s new logo alongside Bitcoin Suisse Chairman and Co-CEO Niklas Nikolajsen.
The arena is expected to receive a flurry of new Bitcoin signage. A giant nine-meter-in-diameter gold and silver Bitcoin will serve as the arena’s centerpiece under the ice. The main bar of the arena will be set up with payment terminals for Bitcoin and Ethereum, the world’s second biggest cryptocurrency, as well as for Bitcoin Cash. Even the hockey pucks for the season will be decorated with bitcoin logos.
Bitcoin Suisse staff will be on hand to help people at the gala set up digital wallets.
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This announcement caps off what has been a wild ride for cryptocurrencies in 2017. Bitcoin’s value rocketed to more than $18,000 in December from less than $1,000 at the start of the year. This year also saw a record amount of ICOs, or initial coin offerings, for companies looking to raise money through cryptocurrency offerings, something that is facilitated by Bitcoin Suisse. Bitcoin Suisse is pegging this sponsorship deal as a successful culmination of the efforts it has taken to mainstream cryptocurrencies.
“The determination, effort and hard work, which took the Rungsted Seier Capital hockey team from being an outsider to one of the strongest teams in the league is something we can very much identify with from the side of Bitcoin Suisse,” the company wrote in a statement.