Cryptocurrency exchange Gemini has signed a five-year sponsorship deal with Real Bedford football club, co-owned by Peter McCormack, host of popular podcast What. bitcoin Bitcoin
+2.42%
did.
Gemini said on Monday that the deal is paid upfront in bitcoin and aims to support the club’s success and improve opportunities for local children. A Gemini spokesperson told The Block that this is in addition to the $4.5 million that Winklevoss Capital, the investment firm owned by Gemini founders and twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, invested in the club in April.
The April investment makes the Winklevoss twins co-owners of the club alongside McCormack, who purchased the club in 2022. When asked why Gemini had signed the new deal, a spokesperson said Gemini’s sponsorship of the club would continue from 2022 and Gemini’s logo would appear on the club. It is featured throughout the team’s uniforms and stadium and is separate from the April investment.
A spokesman declined to comment on the value of the new sponsorship deal with the club or the previous one, but said Real Bedford was Gemini’s only sports sponsorship.
Bitcoin Transactions
Real Bedford Football Club holds its treasury in Bitcoin and the five-year contract will be paid directly into this Bitcoin treasury, Gemini said. The finances are important to protect the club’s savings and investments from high inflation, the cryptocurrency exchange said, as the club builds a new training center and promotes youth football for underprivileged children in Bedford, a village in Bedfordshire, England, where McCormack lives. He added that it would help in starting the academy.
Real Bedford has fully integrated Bitcoin into its operations, allowing players to receive payments in the cryptocurrency and fans to use it to purchase tickets and merchandise, Gemini said.
“By integrating Bitcoin into our treasury, we have achieved a return of +62%, strengthening the club’s financial position and protecting its cost base from the recent inflation spike,” McCormack said in a statement.
Gemini declined to specify the size of the club’s Bitcoin vault, and a representative for McCormack did not respond to The Block’s request for comment.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet providing news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is the largest investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information on the cryptocurrency industry. Below are the current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be or be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.