Italian football club Rimini Rimini, known for playing in the Serie C of Italian football, set a record as the initial team bought with cryptocurrency. Heritage Sports Holdings (HSH), a sports investment company from the UAE, executed the acquisition, obtaining roughly a 25% stake.
The news was confirmed by the president of Rimini, Giorgio Grassi. In a press release , he states:
“Discussions with this group have been in the works for several months. Heritage Sports Holdings, in collaboration with its partner Quantocoin, aims to introduce new perspectives and synergies in the realms of sports, branding, and technology. Their investment is groundbreaking due to the incorporation of crypto payments and blockchain tech.”
A Little Background
Established in 2013, HSH has been active in acquiring football teams and investing in related ventures across Asia and Europe. The company owns several clubs, such as Union Deportiva Los Barrios in Spain’s sixth division and Italy’s Mantova. They are also linked with Gibraltar United, famous for being among the first to pay players in digital currency.
Rimini is an old club with a past filled with challenges. After a memorable match against Juventus at Stadio Romeo Neri in 2006 that ended in a 1-1 draw, Rimini faced bankruptcy. Further issues led to the exit of board members, causing the team to disappear and re-emerge three times.
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks
Recently promoted from Serie D, the league is reorganizing, with HSH marking the first company to purchase a football team with digital assets. Grassi highlights:
“This transaction will be a milestone in football history, bringing significant recognition to Rimini. Lately, Heritage Sports Holdings has shown compelling interest in the Rimini brand and our forward-thinking view on football. Our new partners admire Rimini F.C.’s transparency, economic strategies, community focus, and the strength of our affiliated network.”
Sports and Crypto: The Perfect Combo
The intersection of sports and cryptocurrency is not new, and football isn't the only sport to dabble in digital assets. Just last July, Major League Baseball (MLB) launched what’s known introduced “MLB Crypto Baseball,” a trading game where sports enthusiasts can buy, sell, and trade digital avatars connected to MLB history and its iconic players.
Daniel Roberts, a financial journalist, notes:
“In MLB Crypto Baseball, fans invest in digital avatars linked to recent memorable moments in games. Players have the chance to exchange these assets, with some earning extra perks and collectibles. The game operates as a decentralized application (DApp).”
Read: Cryptocurrency and Football – Ready to Score or Miss the Goal?
Crypto at the Hoop
Basketball has also welcomed cryptocurrency through the Sacramento Kings made headlines as the first basketball team to venture into Ethereum mining in June. Moreover, in 2014, the Kings were the pioneering sports team to accept bitcoin, as reported by ESPN.
Team CTO Ryan Montoya shared:
“Innovation has always been our motto. We led by example with adopting Twitter, Google Glass at home games, and drone tech. But it was our opening of the Golden 1 Center arena that showcased to fans and the NBA our tech-forward vision, weaving it into our business fabric.”
