The Bitcoin Standard has many forplus. For some, selling all possessions and living off the magical money of the Internet is the key; for others, it’s about turning every penny left over into Satoshis. For popular podcaster Peter McCormack—an avid soccer fan—it meant buying his local club and signing with bitcoin (BTC) on the team sheet..
Bitcoin advocate McCormack acquired his hometown football club in December 2021. He changed the name and branding of the club to Real Bedford, and on the pitch, bitcoin is used to pay for shirts, drinks and tickets.
But with the price of bitcoin hovering around $20,000, can the spirit behind a falling coin transform the future of a football club? And what is more important, why this lower league club has caught the attention of bitcoin advocates around the world?
On the pitch, Cointelegraph caught up with McCormack, local fans, and Bitcoiners in the season opener, which was streamed to hundreds of Bitcoiners around the world.
From the time he was a child, McCormack dreamed of buying Bedford Town, the local football club. “Bedford could keep a team in the Fooball League,” he told Cointelegraph. He ended up buying the local minor league team, Bedford Football Club, who play in the Spartan South Midlands Football League..
Six leagues below the English Football League (EFL), Real Bedford’s football ladder is way above it. McCormack jokes that playing in the Premier League is more of a dream, at least for now. Nevertheless, Although footballing achievements are crucial for promotion, the biggest challenge the club currently faces is that “the team’s sponsors are bitcoin-related companies“.
In somewhat surreal scenes, advertisements for bitcoin-friendly brands such as Casa, Gemini and Compass Mining cover billboards surrounding the stadium, while matchday kits also feature cryptocurrency companies. Nevertheless, with the bear market in full swing, there is a risk that these companies will run into trouble.
“At some point, towards the end of the season, I have to go back to them and say: look, we’ve done it, hopefully, hopefully we’ll get promoted, and it’s going great, but I have to go back and say: okay, we have to move on to the next level. Okay, I need you to sponsor us again.”
Some local fans were puzzled by bitcoin ads on billboards surrounding the pitch; others were willing to ask where they could get bitcoin. Despite the bitcoin-centric approach, fans Cointelegraph spoke to place more weight on the manager’s impact than the impact of the club putting “bitcoin at heart”. In essence, President McCormack has bankrolled the team; now is the time for the manager to drive the team forward and inspire the athletes.
To his credit, the team has obtained excellent pre-season results. Real Bedford drew with teams from several leagues above and, at the time of writing, the team is at the top of the leaderboard.
The manager, as well as some key players, were transferred from local rivals Bedford Town FC before the season, despite Real Bedford being two leagues lower in the English footballing pyramid. Also, McCormack jokes that there are more people attending the bitcoin pre-game meetup than on game days last season.
Building a community is one of those important things for our club. We had 273 at the game today, a huge increase on last season.
Thank you to everyone who came out for the game, bought merchandise and supported the lads. pic.twitter.com/s5mCOXO5o2
— Real Bedford FC (@realbedford) August 6, 2022
Building community is important to our club. We had 273 people at the game today, a huge increase from last season.
Thank you to everyone who came out to the game, bought special merchandise and supported the boys.
Bitcoin Gandalf of the Braiins Bitcoin mining company, who attended the match, summed up the atmosphere:
“The fact that there are people coming from all over the UK and even Europe to watch a lower league team mainly because it is the first club to run on a Bitcoin Standard is a testament to the paradigm shifting technology that is bitcoin”.
Participants in the Bitcoin meetup ranged from experienced node runners to newbies. One lady asked: “Who controls mining?” while some enthusiasts made their first peer-to-peer or Lightning Network transaction. The bitcoin “₿” is hard to miss at the club, while the lower league club’s reach is global. Fans from Amsterdam and Minnesota have bought special lower league club merchandise.
In the clubhouse, meanwhile, there was talk of bitcoin backed bonuses for scorers. Daniel Prince, a fellow Bitcoin podcaster, suggested share player-specific bitcoin QR codes on the live stream. This would allow bitcoin and football fans around the world to “tip” players in real time, for example when a player scores a goal or wins a challenge.. “It’s proof of work in action,” Prince explained.
Even though McCormack is focused on bitcoin, players continue to dabble in altcoins. The season’s leading goalscorer, Dan Walker, told Cointelegraph that he made good money playing with “smart DeFi protocols” in 2022. It’s true that “bitcoin is the future,” he explained, but he had no bitcoin on game day, while that his salary is paid in pounds sterling.
Putting bitcoin aside, McCormack’s passion for his city is contagious. He gives himself body and soul to the team and, therefore, to the city. The team’s football jersey just says “₿edford”—instead of Real Bedford—indicating the intend to put your hometown on the bitcoin world map. El Salvador burst onto the scene through bitcoin adoption, so maybe Bedford could ride that wave too.
In a post-game interview, McCormack told Cointelegraph that he’d rather have a beer with friends at the local pub than champagne in Las Vegas, and that Bedford ranks above Texas every day of the week, despite Texas’ taste for bitcoin. Also, Real Bedford’s promotion means much more to him than Tottenham Hotspur’s relegation. Tottenham Hotspur, a London Premier League club, he is a sworn enemy and often the butt of McCormack’s jokes.
Locals also told Cointelegraph that McCormack’s character goes beyond magical internet money: He is the first to lend a hand and support the community. True to form, McCormack was found handing out drinks, clearing tables and greeting fans on game day, most, if not all, of whom he knew by name.
It is short-sighted to call the team and the transition to a Bitcoin Standard a success. However, with results of 3-0 and 7-1 at the start of the season, combined with lively bitcoin meetups and growing fan participation, there are encouraging signs that bitcoin is leading the way.
Clarification: The information and/or opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views or editorial line of Cointelegraph. The information set forth herein should not be taken as financial advice or investment recommendation. All investment and commercial movement involve risks and it is the responsibility of each person to do their due research before making an investment decision.
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